Catalyst
by FeistyFox
Summary: She really needed to put a better lock on her door because Cain was definitely violating her personal space. Then again, knowing him, he’d shoot the lock off and then where would she be? Probably in a room that had a door with a smoking hole in it…
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Tin Man isn't mine.

Pouring more of the gold liquid into the small glass she had made she tossed it down without hesitation. Bad freaking day. Coughing slightly, she set the glass down and shook her head. Her wet hair stuck to her neck annoyingly and she grabbed it before shoving it over her shoulder. Pouring another shot she was interrupted by the door flying open and hitting the wall with a bang. She didn't need to look up to know who it was.

"You're supposed to be camping with Jeb, Tin Man." Lifting the glass she threw her head back and swallowed.

"What the hell happened?" She knew the man well enough to know he was only shouting because he was dangerously close to panic. It was the only time he ever raised his voice.

"You know, same as always, assassination attempts and intrigue." Glaring at the table the whiskey was sitting on she realized there was a slight problem. Focusing as best she could in her slightly dazed state she shot a spell out and another shot glass appeared. She picked it up and eyed it critically. It had a strangely lopsided checkerboard pattern on it. "Well, that's not right."

With a shrug she filled both glasses and pointed to the weird one. Cain needed to relax as much as she did. "DG!" He slammed the door shut behind him. "Explain to me why it took so long for the messenger to find us!"

"Traitors." Sucking down her fifth shot… Sixth shot…Fuck. Whatever. Before she answered. "Probably because I told Glitch to leave you alone and he hesitated. You and Jeb haven't spent a lot of time together."

"You were almost killed and you didn't want to bother me?" His voice rocking around the room was really ruining the ambiance.

She chose to ignore him. All acknowledging his fear would do was egg him on. "You know what I really miss from the Otherside? Other than classic rock and people actually understanding what I'm talking about? Vodka." She picked up the bottle she had stolen from his room on her way here. "What the hell is this? It's got a kick like a newborn bunny. Pathetic."

"Ozma's sparklin' slippers." He marched over and snatched the bottle from her. She glared in annoyance before picking up his shot glass triumphantly. If he wasn't going to drink it, she was. "Kid, how much have you had?"

"Clearly not enough seeing as I'm still standing." She held her hand out. "Give it."

"I think you've had more than you need."

She jabbed him in the chest. "Do not tell me what I need!" She tried to take the bottle from him but he held it away. "God damn it, Cain! Give it back and go away!"

"You're drunk."

Only slightly tipsy. She was starting to suspect she had been drinking seltzer water. Horribly tasting seltzer water. It wasn't fair at all. "Sadly no, but if you leave I might be able to get there before the liquor runs out."

He sighed and looked at the plain glass bottle. "Did you get this from my room?"

"Yeah, I'll get you more when I hit sober, assuming I ever get drunk."

"I don't care that you took it. Princess, this stuff takes a while to kick in. It isn't like regular whiskey. You're supposed to sip it, not shoot it."

She analyzed that information quickly. "How long?"

"About fifteen minutes from whenever you started."

Considering that, she nodded. "Good." She'd had enough to knock her on her ass then. Turning away she walked into her room and shut the door quietly behind her. She didn't feel the need to make a total fool of herself; she just wanted to stop thinking for the rest of the day. If that meant she would spend it dizzy, drunk, and sick that was fine. She could stay in her room and do that all by herself. Crawling into her bed she pulled a pillow over her head and curled up.

She heard the door open and sighed into the blanket. Suddenly a hand was on her shoulder and she held the pillow harder over her head. "DG?"

"Please go away. I just want to lie here until I have to throw up, okay?"

"What happened? All I heard was that a group of men attacked you and your sister in the study."

Had asking to be left alone been a challenging request? Sucking in a long breath she told him, her voice muffled by the pillow. "Az panicked when they jumped her. I killed them."

There was a long pause. "How many?"

He rubbed her back as he waited. A strangled noise escaped her and she curled up tighter before she answered. "Six." Their faces were burned into her brain. So was the mess they had made after… She felt sick. The bed shifted and his arm wrapped around her waist as he lay down behind her. Wanting some sort of comfort she pressed into his chest.

He tightened his grip and rubbed his thumb over her arm. "Will you come out of there before you suffocate on me?"

"No." She pressed her eyelids tightly together in an effort to stop the tears that were threatening to fall. "I think you've seen me cry enough."

"Kid, I've seen you cry one time in two years." He continued to run his warm hands over her skin. "Come on out for me. It's okay. You don't need to hide."

"You shouldn't have to deal with this." The tears started to flow down her cheeks as she tried to shrug him off. She changed her mind. She wanted to be alone with herself. He could take his warm arms and reassuring hugs elsewhere.

Taking hold of the pillow he pried it out of her grasp and tossed it aside. Turning her over he tucked her head on his shoulder and ran his hand over her wet cheeks, brushing the tears away as soon as they fell. Pressing her head into his neck she tried to relax and stop him from seeing her all at the same time. She felt the alcohol starting to take affect at last and wanted to let it take over. "Did you get enough whiskey?"

That hadn't been the question she was expecting. "Huh?"

"I don't think I stopped drinkin' for two days after the first man I killed. Do you need more?"

God bless this man. "Not unless you want me to succumb to alcohol poisoning."

"Alright."

He continued to stroke her face gently and she figured she should warn him before she slipped any farther into her less than sober state. "Blanket apology for anything I say or do. Might be better for you to flee now."

She felt him looking down at her head. "Why?"

"I get super honest under the influence." She sighed. "I also tend to lose clothing."

"Lose?"

"Okay, I tear it off. Why can't you ever let me try to sound sane or modest?" She glanced up to find his blue eyes peering at her. "For once I would love to not feel like an idiot or a crazy person in front of you." She rolled over so she wasn't snug against his chest and wiped the last of her tears away. The whiskey had definitely set in.

"You're hardly an idiot."

Laughing, she reached for the pillow he had sent across the comforter. "But I am crazy?"

"I don't think I'm the best one to judge your sanity." Huffing in amusement she missed the pillow and glared as she tried again. Wrapping her fingers around it triumphantly she pulled it to her chest.

"That's true. You're a little insane."

"Thanks, Darlin'." Amused sarcasm laced his words.

"Oh, anytime, but don't worry about it. We wouldn't be friends if you were stable."

She could tell the tin man was fighting back laughter at her behavior. He may have come in here yelling but she was sure seeing she was safe had mellowed him out considerably. Seeing her drunk was probably the funniest thing he'd seen since Glitch had decided to streak through the halls. But she was now officially hammered and didn't care in the slightest. "Why's that?"

"Because I would have jumped you by now."

"Jumped me?"

"Yeah. Can't do that." She grumbled at the pillow. It wasn't squishing appropriately. She began to wrestle it into submission. "You'd run away. Better this way. At least you stay."

His voice was thick with confusion as he tried to work out her statement. "How would jumpin' on me make me run away? You pounce me on a regular basis."

"I do not pounce. I hug enthusiastically."

"I'm not seeing the difference."

There was a huge difference. _Huge_. "If I pounced you, you would fall. Hugging does not test gravities hold upon you."

"Where does jumpin' fit in?"

Her forehead crinkled as she went into the recent past and replayed their conversation. They had been over this for sure. "There is no jumping. You are a jump free zone. Didn't I say that? I'm pretty sure I said that."

He sighed. "DG, I'm confused."

"Happens to the best of us. What has your brain in a bind?"

"What is jumpin'?"

Her eyebrows knit together and she turned her head to look at him. "Geez, Cain. You have a son. I thought you knew where babies came from."

"What?" He clearly had no idea what making babies had to do with this conversation. Her eyes homed in on the tip of his ear.

"Are you blushing? Why are you blushing? I've never seen you do that before."

He began to mutter to himself. Something about Glinda and then an obscenity. "Kid, you weren't lyin'." He rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Where did that come from?"

She was hurt by that question. "I don't lie to you. When have I lied?"

He groaned and caught her jaw with his fingers and pulled her head up so they were eye to eye. "Not that. Where did this jumpin' idea come from?"

"I don't understand the question." Hadn't she already explained this? Twice? Wait… Was that right? She frowned as she tried to work that out. He interrupted her train of thought rather rudely.

"What does sex have to do with me runnin'?"

"Oh." She nodded as she tried to hold onto both the question and the explanation. "Not the sex. I'm sure that would be really good, and to be honest I really think you need to get laid." His entire body stiffened. Weird. "The after part would totally screw us up though. Maybe the before part. I can't decide." She patted his shoulder. "It's okay. Well, most of the time." Yawning, she tried to turn over again.

"Screw us up?" Cain was really too fixated on this. "Screw us up how? And what does most of the time mean?"

"It wouldn't be just sex with you. Do you know how utterly disturbing that is? I swear, when I dreamed of a night in shinning armor I wasn't expecting anything like you. I couldn't find a dumb pretty boy could I? Nope, had to fall for an emotionally complex tin man. It's not fair. All I wanted was a straight Ken. Barbie didn't deserve him if he was straight." She considered that for a moment. "Well, GI Joe probably would be a safer bet. I would kill Ken. Most likely on accident."

"Who's Ken?"

She ignored this question. It would be too hard to explain and she could hardly remember the second part of the original question at this point. "If we started anything I'd end up breaking you worse than you already are. Can't do that. I'm too messed up for you. You need someone sweet and stable. That isn't me." Grumbling, she finally managed to flip over. "It has to stop hurting eventually."

Behind her Cain was silent and she began to drift hazily. Then his arm was wrapping around her waist again. He pulled her flat against him and ran his hand over hers gently. "You aren't messed up."

"Yeah, I am." She pulled the pillow to her again. It made her feel better. "Can't help it though." Her mind latched onto a new topic. "How did you get here so fast?"

There was a pause. "Fast? It took us three hours."

"Did it? Are you sure? It felt like less time than that."

"I'm sure."

"Did you have fun with Jeb?"

"Yes." That was a lie. He wasn't real good about that when he was talking to her, although she had seen him outwit seasoned politicians on several occasions.

"You don't sound real honest about that. Try again."

He sighed over her head. "You aren't going to remember any of this tomorrow are you?"

Considering the amount of alcohol she'd had? "Probably not. Why?"

His hand stroked her arm and she sighed contentedly. "I think Jeb's angry with me."

"Jeb? He isn't angry with you. Jeb loves you."

He sounded anything but convinced. "Really? Aren't you angry with your parents?"

"Which ones?"

"The queen and consort."

"Yeah."

"And your nurture units?"

"Them too."

"And my son is angry with me."

That was a silly conclusion. There were completely different dynamics at work. "No. It's different."

He sighed. "How is it different?"

"You never lied to Jeb. You went looking for Jeb. You loved Jeb the whole time. He knows that. He gets confused sometimes is all. Then he gets all grouchy. You do the same thing."

He ignored the part about him being cranky. "Confused about what?"

"He's nineteen. He wants to be in charge. He's used to it. But he loves you. He wants you to be proud. He wants to listen to you and learn from you because you're his father. He can't do both at once. He can't listen to you and lead you. He's confused over where he should be. He doesn't understand what you want. You've got him all frustrated and tied up in knots."

"I want him to be happy."

"Did you tell him that?"

The tin man shifted uncomfortably behind her. "No, I thought he knew."

"How could he know?"

"I don't know. I thought he did."

She patted the hand that was over her. "You're silly sometimes. All you have to do is tell him."

"You say that like it's easy for me."

"How can you fight longcoats, papay, thieves, and witches, but be afraid of telling your son that you want him to be happy? How is that hard? Man up."

"You never told me you wanted to court."

"Could we call it dating? Honestly, you say courting and all I can see are ball gowns and me being married off without consent. And once again, different."

"How?" He sighed tiredly.

"Jeb isn't going to run away."

"I wouldn't run away from you."

She murmured into her pillow. "You run away from me all the time. Every time I ask you how you feel you run away. It's just most of the time your feet don't move."

"How can I run and stand still at the same time?"

"You go inside your head and I don't see you for hours and hours. I wish you wouldn't do that. I miss you when you go away."

He was quiet and she began to drift. "I don't mean to do that."

"I know." Letting go of her pillow she caught his hand and twined their fingers together. "It's just better when you're here with me."

"You don't need to know what I'm feelin' all the time."

"Why?"

"It's not good, Darlin'. I have a lot of hurt. I get angry."

She pulled his hand to her face. "S'ok to be hurting. I'd rather you talk to me about it. Sometimes I think you're mad at me."

"I've never been mad at you." His voice had softened considerably.

"Good. It makes me feel bad when I think that."

He shifted her closer and put his chin over the crown of her head. "Don't feel bad. I don't like you feelin' bad because of me."

"You don't make me feel bad." She muttered tiredly. "I love you. How is that bad?"

There was a slight pause. "You love me?"

"I loved you the minute I saw you put that little horse in your vest."

"I don't believe you."

"Why?"

"You yelled at me about ten seconds after that."

She laughed softly. "You made me angry." Her humor faded as she drifted back to the week of insanity. "You made me angry a lot that week. Mostly at myself."

"What are you talkin' about?"

"You don't belong to me. I shouldn't have been feeling that way. I shouldn't be feeling the way I am now."

He shifted. "How are you feelin'?"

"I-" She stopped talking as her stomach rolled. Throwing his arm off her she scrambled off the bed and into the bathroom. She slammed the door shut and managed to stagger to the toilet before she got sick. Coughing unhappily she flopped to the ground as she fumbled with the handle. Leaning into the wall she caught sight of a pile of stained and bloody clothes in the corner and quivered all over. Cain knocked on the door a moment later.

"Kid?" She didn't answer him. She threw up again at the sight. She wasn't sure she could blame the whiskey this time. All she could smell was blood. The door opened a moment later and when her stomach was empty she pressed into the wall and closed her eyes as she pointed to the clothes weakly. She heard the tin man moving around and then he vanished. When he came back he crouched down next to her. "They're gone now."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. Feel any better?"

"Not really."

"Are you going to throw up again?"

"Not anytime soon."

"Do you want to stay here or lay down?"

She considered that. "Does it smell like blood in here or am I crazy?"

"It doesn't smell like anything but soap and your shampoo. That doesn't mean your crazy."

"Are you sure?"

"I am." Reaching out he rubbed her shoulder. "Would it be better if you were near an open window?"

"A lot."

"Alright." Helping her up he took her into her sitting room and sat her on a loveseat next to her balcony. He opened the glass doors to the cool spring night and the smell of water and the forest rushed into the room. With a grateful sigh she curled up into a ball and put her head on the armrest. He tossed his duster over her a moment later before sitting down next to her. She watched him as he put his feet on the small footstool in front of them and look out over the lake as his hand rested on her ankle.

"Thank you."

"Don't worry about it, Kid." He squeezed her sock covered foot. "You go ahead and, what do you say? Space out?"

She managed a small grin. "You're a dork."

"So you tell me."

"S'not a bad thing."

"You tell me that too." He smiled over at her. "We can talk about this tomorrow if you want to."

"Talk about what?"

He shook his head as a smile played on his lips. "Never mind. We can just sit here and listen to the lake."

"Okay." She yawned and closed her eyes. It was nice listening to the wind whispering through her room.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Tin Man is not mine.

Her eyes fluttered open and immediately snapped closed when light hit them. Moaning miserably she covered her head with her hand. She felt god-awful. Her head was pounding and her stomach was telling her how utterly unhappy it was with her recent life choices. "Oh, God."

There was a noise somewhere to her left and then she heard the tin man. "You alive, Deeg?"

"Yes." She curled up in an attempt to make the pain stop. It didn't work. She came up with another solution. "But could you kill me?"

"Wouldn't be very gentlemanly of me." She could hear the amusement in his voice and it hurt her head.

"I have to disagree with you. It would be kinder to put me out of my misery." She felt around herself with her hand being sure her eyes were in no danger of having light get in them. She thought she should ask a few key questions. "Where am I?"

"Your bed."

"How did I get here?"

"I put you there."

She paused momentarily and assessed her body. She was under some sort of blanket. She was fairly certain her clothes were on, but her head wasn't working right. She should make sure. "If I get up I'm not going to embarrass myself am I?"

"Do you think you have somethin' I haven't seen before?"

"Please, tell me that's a question about your own general experience as opposed to a personal one about me."

He chuckled and she cringed. "Relax, Deeg. You have all your clothes on. Except for your left sock. Somethin' about it didn't strike you the right way. Do you want some coffee?"

"Please."

"Alright. Try to get yourself cleaned up. I'll be back in a few minutes."

She mumbled something, it wasn't even a word, and heard him leave. The door shut softly and she rolled so her back was to the window. The sun was shinning through the glass very rudely. Trying to open her eyes again she cracked one cautiously and looked around. Gathering herself, she sat up and waited until the room stopped spinning before she got to her feet. Congratulating herself on managing to stand without falling over, or back on the bed, she staggered to the bathroom and shut the door behind her.

Deciding it would be best to leave the lights off she fumbled for the taps on the bathtub and plugged it blindly. This would be better. While the tub filled and steam began to fog the room up she made her way to her sink. Groping around she found her toothbrush, and after knocking over several toiletries, found her toothpaste as well. Five minutes later and her mouth no longer tasted like bile and old socks. It made her feel marginally better about life. When she slipped into the hot water and sank up to her shoulders it helped too.

Leaning her head back she had barely started to relax when there was a sharp knock on the door. "Kid?"

She let out a small shriek of surprise and flailed, splashing water everywhere. Wasn't it bad enough her head felt like it was about to explode? Why in gods name was the tin man making noise? "What's the matter with you?"

"I wanted to be sure you hadn't passed out and drown yourself."

She moaned pathetically. "No."

"Then clean up and get out of there. We both know you don't want me to drag you out." She sighed in response. "Five minutes and I'm coming in. Best get that tail movin'."

"Why are you being mean?"

"I'm not bein' mean. I don't want you blackin' out in the tub. You didn't sleep that long. You still have enough alcohol in your system to knock you on your ass. I don't know what your tolerance level is. You're down to four and a half minutes."

"Okay." That actually made sense. He moved off and she grabbed her shampoo. She managed to get herself clean in three minutes. Standing up she stepped onto the tile and realized she didn't have a towel out. Dripping all over the place she went to her cabinet and dug one out. Drying her hair quickly she wrapped the towel around her chest and went to the door. Thankfully, Cain was nowhere to be seen and her bedroom door was closed.

Dressing quickly she sat on the edge of her bed and started to dry her hair with her now damp towel as she folded her legs up under her. It was really easier to keep her balance with her legs crossed. For some reason it made the room less prone to spin too. Why that was the case she didn't know but she wasn't about to question it in the state she was in. The tin man knocked on the door a minute or two later before walking in. When he saw her sitting rather listlessly on her rumpled blankets his eyes softened a bit. Moving to her she saw he had a mug in his hand and she dropped the towel next to her so she could take it. "Thanks, Cain."

"Don't worry about it, Kid." He patted her arm before retreating to a chair in the corner. Grabbing the back he picked it up and plunked it down in front of her. Sitting down he took her in critically. Used to his quiet contemplation she let him feeling both rumpled and stupid. Taking a sip of the coffee she let the heat seep into her before resting the mug on her knee with one hand and pressing the heel of her other hand over her forehead. "You alright?"

"Other than the hangover?"

He chuckled. "Other than that."

"I don't know." She sighed as pieces of the last day or so came back to her. "Did I kill a bunch of people yesterday?"

His humor faded away. "You did."

"Then I'm thinking I'm probably not okay." She took another drink and decided the tin man really needed to cut down on the caffeine. If this coffee were any stronger it would probably knock her off her feet. This thought led to another. That being why he was here making coffee for her when he was supposed to be doing manly fathering things out in the woods. He wasn't supposed to be here. "Why are you here?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Messenger came and got me."

"Oh." She looked down at the dark liquid. "Did you just get back?"

"No. Been here since last night."

"Last night?"

He studied her briefly and she saw something pass over his face before he went impassive again. "You'd already had a few by the time I got here."

"Christ." She rubbed her temples. That meant she was drunk in front of him. He hadn't just walked in on her passed out which was bad enough. Super. Spectacular. She was sure that went over real well. "I'm _really_ sorry. Whatever I did or said. Or didn't do or say. My fault. I didn't mean it. Whatever it was. Or might have been or… whatever."

"Relax, Kid. You're allowed to have a bad day." She nodded and tried to force more coffee down. "I do have a question though." She looked at him apprehensively. "Who's Ken?"

Her eyebrows drew together. "Ken? Ken who? I'm not sure I know anyone named Ken."

"You said someone named Barbie didn't deserve him."

She blinked at him in utter bafflement. "Barbie? As in the doll?"

He was now as confused as she was. "Doll?"

"Yeah." She drank some more. "It's a toy on the Otherside. I don't think I want to know how that came up."

He was quiet for a second. "The conversation had some strange jumps."

"I'm sure." She didn't even want to know. She didn't want to think about what may or may not have come up or where the leaps in their talk had taken them. If he didn't say anything she wasn't going to ask. She knew better than to dive headfirst into a conversation she couldn't remember having. With her luck she would end up telling him something embarrassing that he didn't know and somehow managed to avoid in her drunken state. She was going to go with ignorance was bliss and hope for the best. "Are you sure I don't have anything to apologize for?"

"I'm sure."

She believed him. Cain had never lied to her even on the occasions she rather wished he had. "Okay, is there anything else I need to do?"

"No. You're on vacation if I do recall."

"So are you. And yet here you are, back in the palace watching me, which isn't even your job by the way. You're supposed to be leading the army not dealing with me." She felt horribly guilty. "You should have stayed out with Jeb."

"That wouldn't have been safe for anyone. I have a pretty strong hunch those men that attacked you were waitin' for us to leave."

"What?"

"I'm with you most of the time. Whole kingdom knows that. Whole kingdom knows Jeb's about as hard to get past as me. Tryin' to get past two generals is damn close to impossible. My bet is those men were goin' to come here and kill you then come after us while we were separated and relaxed. Smart actually. They just weren't bettin' on you showin' those claws of yours. You keep 'em retracted most of the time. Lulls people into a false sense of security. Saved your life and your sisters."

She didn't argue the point. She didn't want to talk about this. She wanted to forget about the whole thing. She latched onto something else. "No one tried to kill you did they?"

"No."

"That's good."

He watched her while she finished the coffee then stood up and took the empty mug from her. "Did that help?"

"A little." And by a little, she really meant not at all. But it had been thoughtful of him anyway.

"If you're up to it I need to ask you a few questions."

"What?"

She could tell the tin man didn't really want to say anything but he did anyway. "I need to know everything you can tell me about what happened yesterday."

"Why?"

Cain's eyes closed off and she wasn't sure what he was feeling as he answered her question. "There wasn't much left for me to look at for clues. You vaporized or mangled everything that was on them. Couldn't even tell there had been six. Only reason I knew that was because you told me."

She was going to be sick again for sure. Maybe she should go ahead and throw up now to save time. Then they could get all the way through this. "Oh."

"I'm sorry, Kiddo. I need to know."

"No, I understand." She looked down at her coffee so she wouldn't have to see his face while she told him. "Az and I were in the lower kitchen. She wanted to learn to make cupcakes so I told her I'd show her." She was never going to be able to make them again now. "I think we were there for about twenty minutes. Maybe a little less than that. I was looking for vanilla in the cupboards and she was mixing in the eggs when four men came in through the door and two more came at us from the other direction."

"Where'd they come from?"

"I don't know. I didn't see. They could have been waiting in the pantry I guess. I never went in there to get anything and there's plenty of room." He made a prompting noise to get her back on track and she kept going. "They had guns. One had a long knife." She held her hands apart to show him.

"A dirk."

"Maybe? I don't know. I remember it had a funny looking handle."

"Funny how?"

She fought for the details. Everything had happened so fast. She doubted she looked at it for more than a millisecond. "It was metal but it had some sort of engraving in it." She changed her mind as soon as the words left her mouth. "Not an engraving… more like a… like more metal was inlaid in it. I only saw part of it though. His hand covered the rest."

"They ran at you?" She nodded. "They were going to kill you?" She nodded again. "What happened next?"

"Az screamed and threw the bowl at one of them. I knew that wasn't going to help." Her fingers were gripping the mug hard. "Everything happened really fast."

"But you were faster." That wasn't a question. "What did you do?"

"I don't know."

"I'm not judgin' you, Deeg. I need to know."

"I mean I don't know." Her voice cracked. "I'm sorry. I'd tell you if I knew. I don't know what happened. I saw them coming at us and I snapped. I have no idea what happened. My magic just… It just exploded out of me. The same way it did when we were in the Papay Fields before I could use my magic. I didn't know I could do that. It just happened."

"Okay." He stood up and took the mug from her and set it on the ground. He crouched down and held her shoulder in one hand and cupped her cheek with the other. She couldn't make herself look at him. "It's okay."

Not really. She kept talking. "That was all. They were all dead and I grabbed Az and pulled her out while I yelled for the guards. I made sure Az was in her room and then Glitch showed up. I figured she was fine and left. I was covered in blood." She rubbed her forehead again. "I took a shower then stole your whiskey. Sorry about that. I knew where it was and really needed to stop thinking."

"I know you did." His thumb ran over her cheek. "That's hard for you to do on a good day." His hand left her face and he squeezed her arms.

She nodded. "Is that all? I don't want to talk about this anymore."

"That's all for now. Once you perk up a bit you need to go see your sister. She's been worrying about you. Told her you were sleepin' and she didn't want to wake you up."

She wasn't sure she was ready to deal with Az. She loved her sister but she had a hunch there would be some sort of high pitched noise erupting out of her when she showed up. Her head protested at the thought of such a thing. "I'm going to need a few more minutes."

"I know. You don't need to hurry. Glitch and Jeb have her more than occupied. Might be a good idea for you to try to get somethin' in your stomach before you do anything else."

She sighed. She'd really rather go back to sleep but she didn't need Az blowing down the door to make sure she was still alive. Unfolding her legs had the tin man standing so she had room to get up. When they got into her main room she saw he already brought food up to her. This man was ridiculous. Only Cain would bring her breakfast after she passed out drunk in front of him the night before. Sitting down at the table in the corner she sighed before picking up a piece of toast. She didn't think she could handle putting anything on it and took a small bite as Cain settled across from her.

After she managed to choke down a few bites she looked at him. "We can't stay here can we?"

"No."

She figured as much. That was a bummer. She hadn't even gotten to go swimming yet. "When are we leaving?"

"First thing tomorrow."

"Okay."

"Sorry, Kid. I know you needed a break."

"We all needed a break. Including you."

"Maybe. We'll be safer in the city though. I don't know how they got through the maze. That's botherin' me something awful. They shouldn't have been able to do that. Azkadilla can't work it out either. Your mother or Tutor might know but they're in the city."

She nodded in understanding. She didn't know enough about magic to help but she thought Az should. She knew why Cain was nervous about staying here. If they were attacked again there was no guarantee she could stop them considering she had no idea what she did in the first place. There weren't that many guards with them either. Jeb, Cain, and Glitch were the only ones that came with them. They all piled into a truck and took off before anyone but her parents knew they were gone. The soldiers that were here were permanently assigned.

The soldiers hadn't known they were about to get visitors until they walked through the maze and Cain started barking orders. Poor things scattered so fast it made her head spin at the sight. She had seen Jeb's eyes glint with steely amusement as the soldiers tried to get a handle on the situation. There were only fifteen of them here, which meant it was impossible to avoid detection in the crowd. Cain and Jeb ran them ragged for the next few hours as she, Glitch, and Az retreated to find rooms.

When the Cain men turned back up the tin man was muttering under his breath as Jeb fought back laughter. When she asked what was the matter neither answered for a minute. Then Jeb gave in and told her his father threatened to reassign all of them to a less pleasant post if they didn't get their acts together. Since then the soldiers had been nothing but alert and conscientious about their surroundings. It made her even more nervous about the attack than she had been before. Someone should have noticed those men sneaking in to kill them while they baked. "Deeg?"

Her head came up and she realized she had been staring blankly at the crumbs on her plate while she held the half eaten toast in her hand. "What?"

"Where did your mind just run off to?"

"Nowhere." She finished her food as fast as possible and stood up. "Let me dry my hair and I'll go talk to Az."

He nodded and she retreated. Locking herself in her room she picked her towel back up and flopped on her bed. Rubbing her head uncaringly with the cloth she sighed into the blanket. So much for vacation. Real life had decided to smack her in the face. Not cool.

Author Note: Glad everyone liked the last chapter! I think I got more reviews in ten minutes than I did for the last half of Holed Up. Sorry it's taking me awhile to get chapters up but it's the end of the semester and things are crazy. I'll try to post again next weekend but no promises. Leave me one!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Tin Man doesn't belong to me. The characters just took up residence in my life.

"I don't get it." Deeg looked at her sister's hands as they sat in the back of the transport. He shot a look at them in the rearview mirror as he drove down the dusty road. The two princesses were sitting on one of two benches that stretched from behind the front seats to the back doors. Glitch was stretched out over the other one with his head propped up on his hand as he watched them. Beside him Jeb glanced back idly to see what they were doing. He caught a brief look of Azkadilla catching the kid and positioning her hands delicately. He turned his attention away as the two women occupied themselves. The older princess was doing her best to keep Deeg engaged as they drove, and he once again wondered exactly how perceptive she was.

He often thought that Azkadilla was as sweet and caring as Deeg was in her own quiet way. If she'd been given half a chance she would have blossomed into an open and loving woman. As it was she bore the scars of her imprisonment. There was a fearful shyness in her. One he couldn't blame her for having. She'd been so young when the witch caught her. She hadn't had any experience or understanding to fall back on in order to fight, or even manage to comprehend what was being done to her. The young woman retreated into herself once she was released and Deeg had done her level best to get her back out again. The kid had a way about her, and slowly but surely she coaxed Azkadilla out.

At least that's the way it usually was. Since they got in the transport this morning the roles had reversed. Now it was Azkadilla that was keeping Deeg from falling into her thoughts. In the last few hours she taught her sister several rhyming games that had Deeg smiling despite her mood as she tried to say the confusing riddles correctly. He wondered if she remembered the game her sister was teaching her or if it was one of the many novelties about this side of the rainbow that made her smile. It was simple game to be sure, but it kept them both entertained. Kept the headcase entertained too, which was a relief in itself.

Once Glitch got going it was hard to get him to stop. He used to think the man was a pain in the ass with half a brain. Once the kid and the queen got his brain back in him he was five times as much trouble. Even with his brain back in his head he had a habit of glitcing. Why the operation didn't fix it he wasn't sure but he was sure the old Ambrose the queen and consort remembered was gone for good. He couldn't find it in himself to mind. He hadn't taken much of a fondness to the snippy brain when they were stopping the witch. As much as Glitch annoyed him at times at least he was wasn't uptight and snooty.

But they had moved onto other things a few minutes back. At the moment the older princess was trying to show Deeg how to make a simple illusion with her magic. How Tutor had skipped what appeared to be an easy enough trick and into complex magics like teleporting with the girl was beyond him. Maybe the mutt was worried she would play a trick on him or something. Not that it made much more sense than anything else the man did seeing as the worst thing the kid did intentionally was call him by his hated nickname.

As far as he could tell Deeg was nothing but focused and diligent in her lessons. He'd found her holed up in the library studying alone more than once. He'd found her tucked in the small chair next to her window in her own room for that matter. The kid had amazing study habits. If he spent as much time reading as her he'd know as much as the headcase. And that was saying something. He enjoyed reading. He simply didn't spend the majority of his time doing it.

Azkadilla's laughter rang through the truck like a soft bell. "No. Your fingers are all wrong."

"I'm glad you find my failure so amusing."

Azkadilla laughed again and he took another peek in the mirror. He noticed Deeg shooting a quick, calculating look at her sister and realized what was really happening. This girl was too damn sneaky for her own good. She was playing dumb to keep her sister content. So much for letting herself get taken care of for once. All Deeg was doing was letting Azkadilla play at being a big sister. The kid was letting the older princess distract her. He was confused for about a second until he figured out her motivation. Deeg knew damn well her sister had seen her fair share of bad things. He doubted seeing men plastering the walls did much good for her head. As upset as Deeg was she was still more worried about her sister's reaction to what happened than her own. She was distracting Azkadilla by being distracted. The kid made his head hurt sometimes.

"I don't understand why you can't do this."

Deeg sighed. "Show me again."

There was a shimmer in the air, like something pleasant blowing over his skin, and then the sound of chirping. Glitch chuckled and even Jeb let out a huff of amusement. For his all around too serious son that was something of a shock. He glanced over his shoulder and shook his head as he smiled. The older princess had used her magic to make the cutest damn bird he had ever laid eyes on. The thing wasn't more than a small, bright pink puffball with small yellow feet and a tiny beak that could barely be seen past its feathers. Azkadilla crooned at it and it cheeped happily back at her.

Deeg snickered and held her finger out. She petted it gently and it let out a long series of tweets at her. "Wow, Az."

"What? Isn't he adorable?"

"This is remarkably Disney of you."

"What does that mean?"

Deeg shook her head and eyeballed the little bird. "It means if it were any sweeter we'd all get sick to our stomachs."

He huffed out his own laugh as Azkadilla defended her creation staunchly. Talking to the bird she set him on her shoulder where he puffed up his already fluffy body. His feet and beak were no longer visible. "Don't listen to her. She's just a big mean spoilsport."

"I am not! It isn't my fault you made him so… so cutesy. He's going to have self image problems."

"A bird?" Glitch asked.

"Look at him!" She waved her hand dramatically and he saw Jeb's lip twitching like mad. "The other birds are totally going to make fun of him!"

"Do birds on the Otherside make fun of each other?" The headcase asked with complete and utter interest.

Deeg looked at him like he was crazy. "Of course not. I was trying to make a point."

Glitch frowned. "I'm not following you."

She rolled her eyes. "Never mind." Putting her hands back in position she concentrated and more magic flowed over him. Only this time it didn't feel as much like a gentle breeze as a subtle caress. He shifted in his seat as discretely as possible. The kid's magic always had a way of running over him in unexpected ways. Sometimes it was gentle and soothing and other times it felt like this. Like someone was tracing him with soft, delicate hands. He'd found himself watching her lessons more than once simply so he could feel it. Having never been around a mage anywhere near as powerful as the girl before he had initially thought that was simply how magic felt. Only took him a few weeks to work out that his initial assumptions about that were wrong.

He'd been standing next to Azkadilla one day when she knocked over a glass. With a sigh she waved her hand and the thing pieced itself back together in the blink of an eye. It wasn't until an hour later that he realized he hadn't felt much of anything from the spell she cast. A slight hum in the air sure, but nothing like the unmistakable presence of the kid's light. He still didn't know what the difference was, but he enjoyed being near her when she used it. At least when allowed himself to appreciate it.

Most of the time he tried to stay out of her way when she was with Tutor. She needed to focus and he knew that, but sometimes the impulse was too strong. Not that Deeg ever minded him being there. She was usually pretty happy when he showed up. He put that down to Tutor being about as interesting as a wet mop as far as conversation went. Ten minutes listening to him ramble and he was ready to fall asleep. Deeg had to deal with him for several hours a day. She was probably happy to see anyone. Then again after their…talk he might want to reconsider that. He needed to reconsider a lot of things.

He was still trying to get his head around everything she let out. The kid had sure told him the truth about her honesty ratcheting up a notch. He'd thought she was exaggerating. Five minutes into her self-imposed breakdown and he knew she wasn't. The drinking itself didn't surprise him in the slightest. Not after the look he had in the kitchen after he left her to sleep some of it off. His stomach turned over at the sight and only years of control and seeing things worse than that had him holding his food down.

Jeb had come up behind him while he tried to work out what exactly it was he was seeing and stood stone faced as he stared around. After a minute where he worked out there wasn't going to be anything for him to work with Jeb spoke. "Did you know she could do this?"

"I'm not sure the kid knew she could do this."

"Is she all right?"

"She's sleepin'." He didn't feel the need to tell his son Deeg passed out. He knew she hadn't even wanted him to know. She wasn't pleased when he showed up and done her best to hide from him once she knew she would eventually find the release she was looking for. If he hadn't followed her into her room she would have simply curled up and cried herself to sleep. While she still accomplished both those things at least she hadn't been alone through it. Deeg didn't react well to violence. She might not shy away from doing what she had to but she didn't have the stomach for it. Usually she went out of her way to avoid physical confrontations even if it would make things easier for her in the long run. This was so far past overkill that he knew it had been an accident as far as the amount of magic she used. She must have panicked.

Jeb nodded. "Azkadilla said there were six."

"That's what Deeg said too."

"The guards already swept the castle. There aren't any more of them here." His son turned and left the lower kitchen with a tilt of his head. He followed him. He didn't want to stay in here either. When they were back out in the hall Jeb continued. "There might be more in the woods that we didn't see. We should move most of the guards into the east wing with us and have a few patrol. It'll be safer."

"That's a good idea." Jeb nodded again. "I'll take care of it. If you want to stay with Deeg I'll take Azkadilla."

"Alright, son." He saw the slight twitch in Jeb's hand before he turned and left. He repressed a sigh as he headed back to the kid's room. Her insight into his relationship with his son had both surprised him and made him feel like an idiot. Of course Jeb was frustrated and confused. Who wouldn't be after what he went through? He was aware he hadn't been doing as much as he should have when it came to getting them back on even footing. He tried, Ozma knew he tried, but he could never managed to break through the boy's defenses. Maybe he hadn't wanted to on a certain level. He wanted his seven-year old back. He wanted the sweet little boy he taught to fish and swim. He missed Jeb's smile and the way he used to beg to be read a bedtime story. But that Jeb had grown up and his wants were selfish at best. His new Jeb had lost both his parents and led the most powerful faction of the resistance for far longer than anyone should have been able to. Jeb was serious, and that smile he used to live to see had faded away. He never really saw it anymore.

Moving into the kid's suite he locked her door and wove his way into her bedroom. She was sleeping quietly under the blanket he threw over her. Sitting down on a chair in the corner he shifted his attention between her and the window. He should take her advice and talk to Jeb when they got back to the city. He wasn't sure how much longer their relationship would last at this rate. Even the two days they spent in the woods, which he had hoped like hell would break some of the tension, had failed pretty miserably. His son was distant and he started fighting with his temper as the camping trip became more and more strained. This wasn't what he wanted. He wanted his family. He knew Adora was gone, along with his own parents and his sister, and he made a certain kind of peace with that. A strained peace. More like a silent acknowledgement that they were all gone. He had Jeb. He loved Jeb more than anything. He just couldn't get to him. He couldn't even blame an iron maiden for it anymore. He needed to do something and if that meant it left him exposed and vulnerable he didn't see another way around it. He would do that for his son.

Decided on Jeb, he turned his attention to the kid. Her hair was still wet and lying limply beside her on the bed. He softened at the sight even as he ran his hand through his hair. Why hadn't he seen what was happening between them? He wasn't fool enough to think Deeg was the only one feeling anything. He was lost on her and he knew it. He never wanted to push for anything though. She was young and he was damaged. He knew it. No one could go through what he had and come out unscathed. He didn't think Deeg knew exactly how far the damage went either. It ran deeper than even he wanted to admit. She deserved better. She deserved someone who was whole. How many people were whole after the war he wasn't sure but she did deserve it. She had to deal with enough in her own life. She hardly needed any more complications.

But she said she loved him. Even drunk he knew she'd meant that. It had shocked him. It also sent a bolt of heat through him. He hadn't realized how much he wanted her until she said that. He hadn't let himself think about it. Now he was and he wasn't entirely sure what to do. He thought about that for a long time while he watched her sleep and still he hadn't come up with any sort of plan.

He had settled on seeing what her reaction was when she woke up. Her reaction was amnesia. He could have bashed his head against the wall in frustration. She put him in the position of having to do something about it. If she remembered the whole thing would have tumbled out in a go. Deeg didn't let things like that sit. But no, once again she was making him face his fears. How she kept getting the upper hand was beyond him and damn frustrating. He should just leave it alone. They were good the way they were. He was happy. Deeg was happy.

The kid's magic faded away and he snapped back to the present. Her sister tried to console her. "It's okay. Some spells are harder to get than others. I never could turn water into ice and you did it on your first try."

"Oh, well." Deeg shrugged and he was pretty damn sure that she could make an exact replica of the pink bird with most of her attention on something else. "How long will the illusion last?"

"A few more minutes. I didn't put much magic into it. If I wanted to I could keep it going for a day or two before it disappeared."

"That's neat." The kid shifted so she could see the spell better. "I could see how that might come in handy. How exactly does it stay together? Is it a trigger spell?"

Oh, no. The gears in the kid's head were already turning. This wouldn't end well for someone. Hopefully, this time it wouldn't be him. Azkadilla began to explain the trick more fully as Deeg asked a few questions. The bird began to flitter around and he ignored it for the large part until it lost its balance midair and bashed into the window between him and Jeb. He raised an eyebrow as it lay on its back on the dashboard and flapped its stubby little wings in annoyance. Reaching out his son scooped it up and set it upright carefully. Puffing up again it cheeped as it began to hop about. Then, all at once, it shook itself out of existence. There was a popping noise and feathers blew away as if they were being blown out by a small bomb.

There was a brief moment of silence in the transport before Deeg let out a very unfeminine snort and clapped her hand over her mouth to muffle the noise. Jeb started to chuckle, whether it was from the end of the illusion or the noises the kid was making he didn't know, and his lip twitched like crazy. As he watched pink feathers blew around his face and he waved a hand to brush them away. Deeg continued to snicker as her sister glared at her. He looked at her in the mirror again. Her eyes were sparkling with glee and her cheeks were flushed prettily. He turned his eyes away quickly. There was no way in hell he was going to be able to leave this alone.

Author Note: Thanks for all the reviews guys! They really make me happy at a crappy time of the school year. And for all of you who asked I will do my best (honest to god) to update Emerald Shield over my winter break. It's still a few weeks away but I'll try. Promise. Until then I'm off to take finals and finish papers. Leave me one!


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Tin Man is not mine, has never been mine, and will never be mine. I don't think… I'm leaving my options open.

Tossing his pack in his room he rolled his neck as he tried to work out the kink that had developed over the course of the drive. After a few slow rotations it popped and he grimaced at the sound. Either he was getting old or he was getting soft. After ten years in an enchanted suit without being able to move more than an inch in any direction he should be able to sit in a car for seven hours without a problem. He turned his mind away from the path it was trying to travel down and focused on putting his things away. He'd learned the hard way that if he thought about the suit, the cabin, or anything relating to either, that he would inevitably be plagued with nightmares. He'd prefer to get a good nights sleep tonight and shook out one of his shirts before hanging it up in his closet.

He would have rather been with Deeg than putting his things away at the moment but the second they'd walked into the lower levels of the palace she had chased him off. When he told her he needed to report what happened to her parents she told him, very bluntly, that she was more than capable of telling them what happened herself. Her jaw had been set and he thought she was trying to prove something to herself. When he told her she didn't have to do that she told him it wasn't his job to take care of her and he should be relaxing as best he could seeing as he was still technically on vacation. With that she had ordered him to his rooms as if he were an errant child. Seeing that she'd dug her heels in he left knowing she was as stubborn as a damn mule when she set her mind to something. He wasn't going to fight her on this. He'd go ahead and save his energy for something more worthwhile.

Picking out another shirt he grabbed a hanger and set it next to the first. He sighed a bit when he realized he hadn't even managed to wear all the clothes he brought with him and he wasn't exactly a heavy packer. And while the palace staff would have taken care of such a mundane task for him he preferred to take care of his own things. Not only was it something he had grown up doing and was drilled into his head, he was afraid that someone would try to slip some sort of poison, magical device, or other dangerous mischief into his things. If that made him paranoid then so be it. The only thing he allowed to be done was have one of the maids come through and clean the carpets and windows once a week.

Even that poor woman had undergone severe scrutiny before he let her inside. He had a feeling she'd worked for other paranoid people in the past and had let him investigate her without complaint or comment. When he was satisfied, and he had checked to be sure she'd stayed away from his things, he allowed her to invade his sanctuary when he wasn't there. He did this mostly because it was expected now that he was living in the palace, but also because he genuinely preferred a clean environment. He was neat by nature. He liked things orderly. It helped him think and clear his head when the rest of the world tumbled into chaos around him.

Setting his pack on the shelf he kept it on he shrugged out of his duster and hung it up as well. It was followed by his hat, which he placed on the shelf next to his pack. Once he was satisfied that things were back in place he stood and glanced out the window as he gathered his thoughts. He'd been trying to figure out how to talk to Jeb for the last two days and still wasn't sure where to start. It didn't help that now that the idea was in his head he couldn't escape it. If he didn't take care of this now he wouldn't be able to get anything else done. It was like a dog nipping at his ankles. He needed to kick the thing in the head to get it to go. After ten minutes of fruitless thought over how to go approach the subject he simply left his rooms and went to Jeb's. He would just go at this head on. He was a straightforward person. It was the way he was. He didn't know why he was trying to be subtle about anything.

Stopping a few doors down from his own, he knocked on the wood paneling. He heard Jeb muttering then a small thump. "Coming."

A few seconds later and his son opened the door. He glanced at him then around the hall as if he was expecting someone else to be with him. "Dad?"

"Can I come in?"

"Sure." He moved out of the way and shut the door behind them. His eyes darted around the room out of habit and he noted, once again, that Jeb was more scattered about things than he was. While the room was clean, it was cluttered. He had stacks of books piled haphazardly around and he knew the boy's bedroom was in worse shape. Jeb generally had company and kept this part of his suite clear to entertain them and keep them feeling comfortable. After living in camps and the woods for so long he was a bit surprised Jeb was this clean. He had a sneaking suspicion he had Adora to thank for drilling a few chores into his head with everything else going on. She had always prided herself on cleanliness. "Did you need something?"

"I want to talk to you."

Jeb shifted his weight and shrugged. "About what?" He turned about and went to a table standing next to the door. There were a number of envelopes and folders sitting on it. He had his own stack waiting for him to read in his own rooms. They were full of reports and various information on troop movements, supply lines, and the state of several branches of the military he was in charge of. His son began sorting through the pile and stacking them in some sort of order. After seeing Jeb in meetings he was betting it was by priority rather than subject matter. His son was the model of efficiency.

"Jeb, look at me." His head came up at the request. There was a sudden wariness about him and he thought Jeb was trying to come up with escape routes or attack strategies if necessary. He told himself this was why he was here to begin with and braced himself. Then, with an internal sigh, he charged into the conversation. "We can't keep this up much longer."

"Keep what up?" His son straightened up from bending over the table.

"This." He waved his hand between them. "We barely talk. I don't see you for days on end and we live less than a hundred feet from one another. This isn't what I want."

Jeb's eyes flashed angrily. "Well, maybe its what I want."

He was taken aback by the anger in his voice. He also felt a deep sadness overtake him. He wouldn't retreat though. He'd made his mind up about clearing the air. He wanted to know where his son stood and why. "Why?"

"What do you mean why?" Jeb turned back to the table and went back to sorting mail. "We have nothing to talk about. We have nothing in common. There's no point in this."

"Jeb, we're family. You're my son. I don't want to spend the rest of my life feelin' like we're strangers to each other."

"You are a stranger. I hardly remember you." He never looked up as he flipped through the papers. "All I have are a few hazy snippets. That's it. Mom raised me, not you."

Guilt, sadness, and anger rolled over each other in a fight for dominance. He did his level best to keep his temper and get through this. He had known coming in that this would be hard. "I know, son."

"Yeah, you know, but you weren't there."

"I can't change that."

"No kidding."

He sighed. "Jeb, I'm sorry about what happ-"

"What does that fix?" He threw a report down and turned to face him. "What does sorry really fix? It doesn't change anything! You were trapped, we were alone, and then mom was murdered! That's all there is! Mom's dead and I never went looking for you!"

He realized, in a flash, that Jeb was as angry at himself as he was with him. He went after the anger Jeb was directing at himself first. He knew from experience how that could eat away at a man. He'd rather have Jeb angry with him than himself. He could live with his son being angry at him, he thought he deserved it. What he couldn't handle was knowing Jeb was blaming himself for things he couldn't have prevented or had a choice in. "You thought I was dead-"

"You weren't dead!" His son's blue eyes, that looked so very much like Adora's, were flickering with so many emotions that he could hardly keep track. "I left you there! I never even went to see!"

"Jeb-"

"I could have gotten you out years before you did! You could have been with mom! She wouldn't have cried herself to sleep every night after she thought I was asleep! She wouldn't have gone to bed hungry or cold because she gave me all the food and the blankets! Damn it!" Jeb had completely lost control. He suddenly saw his very scared little boy standing in front of him shouting instead of a general of the Ozian army. "I was supposed to take care of her! Instead I let that rat bastard get his hands on-"

Reaching out he grabbed his son and yanked him to his chest. "Stop." Jeb shoved at him and he tightened his arms. He pressed his cheek to the side of his son's head in an effort to comfort him. "Stop, Jebadiah. It wasn't your fault."

"It was." His voice cracked and he knew he was crying and trying to stop. "I'm sorry."

"No, it wasn't. We got swept up in this storm the same as everybody else." His voice was gruff as he held his son. "No one was safe. I should have hidden us better. It was my job to keep you safe. I was young and I was headstrong. I thought I could do that and help the resistance at the same time. I was damn stupid. I should have taken you both far away where you were safe from everything. I promised Adora I would keep you both safe. I promised no one would get to you. It was my fault. You never should have had to take care of anyone. That's not how it's supposed to work."

"I should have done better."

"Better than what?" He held him back and Jeb looked away as tears ran down his cheeks. "You led the strongest branch of the resistance when you were fifteen." He shook him slightly. "You were _fifteen_. The only thing you should have been worried about were your studies and some pretty thing that had your head spinnin' while she drove you crazy. You did what men three times your age couldn't do. Don't you dare feel ashamed of what happened. I'm damn proud of you. No one could have done better than you."

"You could have."

He shook him again. "Jeb, I got myself locked in an iron maiden. I think it's pretty obvious I couldn't have. You're smarter than me. You may have gotten that level-headedness from me but you sure as hell got that brain from your mother. She was always the smart one. Look at me." Jeb finally met his eyes after he wiped the tears away with his sleeve. "This wasn't your fault. I don't want you thinkin' that anymore. What happened, happened. I can't go back and change it for us and I'm sorry that I can't. You did a lot more than anyone else did, or should have had to. Do you understand what I'm sayin'?"

"Yeah."

"Do you believe me?" There was a long pause before he nodded slightly. "I'm not lyin' to you."

Jeb searched his eyes for a second. "It wasn't your fault either."

"In a way it was." He sighed and put his hand on the side of Jeb's head. "I made some stupid decisions. I'm not about to deny that. I was a damn fool. I'm sorry you had to pay for the mistakes I made."

"You did what you thought was right. Not many other people can say that. They ran and hid or let it happen."

"You don't need to get understanin'. I'd rather you go ahead and get angry with me so we can have this out in the open."

"I haven't been angry with you in a long time."

"But you were?"

He let his hands drop to his sides as Jeb shrugged. "For a while. When I was younger. When we first ended up in the resistance camps. Then I realized nearly everyone there had lost at least one parent or sibling. I wasn't angry with you after that. I was proud people knew who you were. They helped us because of the things you did. We were treated better than we had been anywhere else even if we were out in the middle of nowhere."

Well, at least that was something. He sighed and Jeb seemed to have regained control of himself again. "I'm glad you managed to find a place for yourself."

He nodded. "It wasn't bad once we got there. Except when we lost someone it was all right. We took care of each other." His eyes flicked to the window before coming back to him. "Mom was better once we got settled there too."

He felt more settled now that all of this was out. Only one more thing to cover. This would be the hardest part for him. "Jeb, I want us to be a family again. I want to be a part of your life and I want you to be a part of mine. I don't like what we are to each other. I want you to be happy. What do you need from me to make that happen?"

Jeb's attention shifted to the window again. Something was causing his internal sensors to come up. "What are you lookin' at?"

His son caught himself. "Nothing."

"Why do you keep lookin' at the window?"

"I'm not."

Now his son was lying. He tilted his head. "Yes, you are. What's so interestin' about the view?"

He could see Jeb was both distracted and thinking very hard about what he had said a few seconds ago. He stared back out the window and he saw him making some sort of decision. After several long seconds he seemed to agree with himself and turned now clear eyes back. "I want that too." Relief coursed through him in a rush. It was so strong he swore his knees almost gave out from under him. Then Jeb asked him a question that he knew was leading somewhere. "What are you doing tomorrow?"

His eyebrow quirked up. "Nothin' of any importance unless an emergency crops up. We weren't supposed to be back for another week. All my meetings have been pushed back."

"Would you come down to the city with me?"

"If you want me to. What's in the city?"

"I have a friend I'd like you to meet."

"A friend?"

"She was in my cell. She's apprenticing under a mid-wife in the city."

He was now under the suspicion that 'friend' might not be the correct term for Jeb's…Friend. Call it an instinct. "What kind of friend are we talkin' about?"

His son shrugged. "An important one. Would you like to meet her?"

Realizing this was a sign that Jeb did want them to have a better relationship he agreed immediately. "I would."

His son nodded sharply. "Good. I need to go if I'm going to catch her. We can leave tomorrow at about eleven. She's off on Tuesdays. We can get lunch."

"I'll be ready."

Jeb nodded and grabbed his jacket off the back of a chair. He saw that it was one of his nicer ones and that his son had changed at some point between their arrival and the time he'd knocked on the door. He had probably interrupted him seconds before he slipped out of the palace. He exited the room and Jeb shut and locked the door behind him. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"All right. Goodnight, Jeb."

"Goodnight."

Then his son turned and trotted down the nearest staircase. As he headed back to his suite parental worry rolled over him. He thought it might be best not to dwell on exactly what his son's activities for the evening might be involving. He was still trying to banish that thought from his head when he went to unlock his door. It was already unlocked. His eyes narrowed and he pulled his gun from its holster. When it was secure he took a breath and threw the door open. It banged off the wall and the kid jumped in shock as the book she was reading tumbled out of her hands.

She blinked at him then raised her arms in the air. "Geez, Tin Man. I give up."

He pressed his lips together and shoved his gun back in the holster. "What have I told you about sneakin' in here?" He shut the door with a snap.

"I knocked!" She defended staunchly as she scooped her book back up. "How was I to know that you would blatantly ignore your normal routine? I don't feel I can be held responsible for your deviation. Although I am curious as to what had you deviating in the first place."

He huffed at her as his anger drained away. "I was talkin' to Jeb. And how could I hold you responsible for pickin' the lock? My fault." He wasn't really annoyed but she deserved some gripping for scaring him. Going to the chair across from her he sat down. "Aren't you supposed to be with your parents?"

"I am." She found her page and flipped to it.

"Kid, you're sitting in front of me. Unless you have Ahamo hidden behind the curtain and Lavender under a rug, you aren't with your parents."

"Ok, I'm not technically with them, but the next best thing is." He stared at her unblinkingly and she pouted.

"Explain."

She sent him a look that told him she had him pinned down to something. "Like the illusion thing Az taught me was really hard. I saw you watching me. You knew I could do it if I wanted."

He pushed aside that he had been caught watching her and focused on the more interesting bit of information. "That better not mean what I think it means."

"What do you think it means?" She asked as she swiveled and stretched out along the couch as she got comfortable.

"That there's a third princess that looks identical to you walkin' about."

"Not identical." She grinned cheekily at him. "I didn't see a point getting too detailed when the copy was wearing clothes. I mean really, no one is going to see my birthmark." She seemed to contemplate that. "At least I hope not. You don't think it's going to start doing a strip tease do you? I wouldn't put it past my double. Especially when I made her."

He wasn't sure what about that statement bothered him more. That there was another Deeg on the loose, that he was starting to wonder where her birthmark was, or how much of her clothing she would have to peel off before he got to see it.

Author Note: So… about the update time. All I can say is that I went into hibernation. I feel much more rested now. I hope you guys liked this chapter. It won't be a whole month before you get another.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer:

Shuffling through her desk she managed to find her sketchpad. It was buried under a decorative candle that she was never going to use, a hair tie she'd been looking for, several books, her notes from Tutor's lessons, and one of her sister's bracelets. She pulled that out and looked at it for a second. She wasn't sure how she'd managed to accidentally steal that from Az. Her mistake. Setting it to the side she promised herself she would return it at dinner before standing up with her art supplies. She really needed to get her mind away from the last few days, which had been horrible, and to a more cheerful place. If she didn't she was sure she would go crazy or have another nightmare. She did not want a repeat of last night. She woke up gasping and covered in a cold sweat and couldn't fall back asleep. She felt very brave as she quivered under her blanket like a frightened child hiding from the monster under the bed.

She would not think about this. She would think of things that did not involve death, blood, or fear. Like drawing. Drawing made her happy. It was the only solution. There was a knock on her door as she walked into the main room of her suit and she hoped it wasn't her mother. She was slightly paranoid that her double may have been found out last night. She didn't want another scolding about how dangerous, irresponsible, or stupid it was. Not that she hadn't expected Cain to have a good rant when she told him. She'd been banking on one actually. There was an odd sense of normality about him when he was trying to keep her safe from herself. She had wanted that normality back after the assassin incident. The weird thing was she didn't think his heart was really into it. He'd only grumbled at her really. It was totally out of the ordinary and she'd spent most of last night, when she wasn't sleeping, trying to work out what was going on.

God, she hoped he wasn't sick again. The last time that happened she'd had to lock him in a room with Raw so the healer could kill the virus. The one that the tin man was still insisting never existed. He hadn't spoken to her or the viewer for days for that stunt. He insisted, when he would finally talk to her, that he had not been sick, simply tired. Not sick her butt. She'd thought the man was as pale as he could get. He had actually gone translucent on her. She had wondered if she would be able to see through him in the right lighting conditions. Then she saw the sweat on his forehead and the slump to his shoulders and decided it might not be the best time to experiment. She was glad she had tricked him into the room when he didn't have his gun on him. He would have shot Raw either because he was annoyed or hallucinating longcoats. She gave herself high marks for that since it was only the second time she'd ever seen the weapon off him. He hadn't been without it since. The only solution she could see if he was sick again was catching him in the bathtub.

Oh, bad thoughts. She wasn't allowed to think such things. She had had this discussion with herself before. On numerous occasions. Bad DG! Bad! Shaking her inappropriate fantasies of a wet and naked tin man off she answered. "Come in."

To her surprise Cain walked in and shut the door behind him. He was both dry and clothed. Pity. She sent him a smile as she readjusted her sketchpad. This was a bit unexpected. She would have bet he'd be working at this time in the afternoon even if was on vacation. "What's up, Cain?"

"Thought I'd come see you."

Uh huh. She could see he was a bit on edge but didn't push the subject. Whenever she pushed he shut down on her. That wasn't what she wanted. He'd been acting weird since she got to his room yesterday and she wondered what had sent him to the brink. She'd tried to get the information out of him but Cain didn't respond well to subtlety, so naturally, she'd learned nothing. "I was going to draw." She waved the art supplies unnecessarily. "Do you want to sit with me?"

"I don't want to bother you."

She rolled her eyes and moved to him. Balancing her things under one arm she grabbed his wrist with the other. "Don't be ridiculous. I can talk and draw at the same time." Tugging him gently she plopped down on her couch and he sat down next to her. Putting all but one of her pencils on the table in front of them she spun one between her fingers as she sat back. She started to draw and when he didn't say anything she gave him a gentle prompt. If she didn't he would sit there without saying a word for at least two hours. He could do that. She'd timed him. She bet he could go longer than that but she always broke down by hour two. "So?"

"What are you drawin'?"

Looking down at the two lines she had made she raised an eyebrow as she held it away. "You can't tell?" He rolled his eyes and she smirked. Flopping ungracefully to the side so he could see what she was doing she leaned against his shoulder and continued to draw. "Tell you what. You can guess as I progress."

"Was the rhymin' necessary?"

"I can't believe you asked me that question." Squirming, she elbowed him lightly. "You're bony."

His lip curled up and he shifted so her back wasn't jammed against his arm. Sitting sideways he slipped his arm around her waist loosely and she let out an approving hum and continued to draw. "Do I get a hint?"

"If I gave you a hint you would know. You're too smart to need a hint."

He tapped his fingers over her hip and she had to redouble her focus to avoid reacting to it. "Sometimes I'm not sure that's true."

He was getting all serious again. She changed the subject. Sort of. "Glitch came up with a new invention while we were at Finaqua."

"Did he?" She could tell Cain was already worried for his life. After the acid the advisor made melted through three stories of stone and metal she didn't blame him. Thank goodness the rooms under Glitch's lab had been unoccupied at four in the morning. That would have been a nasty way to go.

"Yeah, he's calling it relaxing."

Cain huffed. "Is that so?"

"Honestly. I'm not making this up."

The tin man started playing along and she smiled as she continued to run her pencil over the paper. "How's it work?"

"That's the genius of it. It is _so_ simple." She shot a look at him out of the corner of her eye and she saw his lip curling up. She congratulated herself for getting him to smile. "All you have to do is sit around and talk about completely trivial things."

"That's it?"

"If you want to try advanced relaxing I believe some sort of snacks or napping are involved, but I didn't want to strain you this time around."

"Thoughtful."

"I try."

He turned his head and his chin touched the side of her head. "It's a cat."

Her eyebrows drew together. "Umm, no."

"A wheelbarrow then."

"Closer."

"Really?"

"No."

He chuckled and she had to move her pencil away from the paper as it vibrated through her. "Hey! None of that! You'll make me mess up this portrait of a tabby turning over gardening equipment."

"I apologize." He had relaxed all over and she felt better. She really hated when he got upset.

"I guess I'll let this one go. But no more laughing until you can at least identify what it is."

"I'll do my best."

Her smile refused to fade. "I'm not worried then." She continued to sketch with quick sure hands. This had always been easy for her. It was really the only thing that came easy to her. She had to work pretty hard at everything else. She was glad she had this. The tin man continued to watch her and she thought he might be relaxed enough to answer at least one of her questions if she went about it the right way. "Why'd you come to see me? Not that I don't want you here, but I have a feeling you have ulterior motives."

He sighed and she stopped sketching again. "Honestly?"

"Do you know how to lie?"

She knew he rolled his eyes. "Yes."

"Then honestly."

"I think Jeb's tryin' to kill me."

"Did he put poison in your coffee or shoot at you?"

"Neither. He's tryin' to give me a heart attack."

"That's much more creative. No one would suspect him if that happened. Very sneaky. He probably gets that from you. Aren't you proud?"

"You aren't helpin'."

She started to define her creation a bit more. "You never said I was here for helping purposes. Be more specific next time. What's going on?"

"We went down to the city for lunch."

"I can see how that would upset you. What with the fresh spring air and sunshine."

"Are you going to let me finish or tease me to death?"

"I'm only trying to help your only child achieve his goals. No need to get persnickety."

"I can see this was a bad idea."

He started to get up and she dropped her pad. Twisting, she grabbed him and pulled him back down quickly. She knew she'd messed up and wanted to fix it. The last thing she wanted was to drive him away when he actually wanted to talk because she was running her mouth. "I'm sorry." He blinked at her sudden and very sincere apology. "Really, I want to know. You know I can't keep my mouth shut. It's not a skill I possess. No filter between it and my brain. Sorry, Cain. Don't leave."

He relaxed again. "You don't need to be sorry, Kid. Jeb caught me off guard. You know I don't react real well when that happens."

"What did he do to you?" Now her curiosity wouldn't be satisfied until she knew. She turned around and crossed her legs under her so she could look directly at him while he spoke.

He rubbed his face. "He introduced me to the girl he's been courtin'."

She brightened at that news. She'd been worried Jeb was unhappy and alone. He disappeared all the time but she thought he was going off by himself. This was much better than that. And he brought the tin man to meet her? That was great. It meant he wanted approval or something along those lines. He and Cain had been tiptoeing around each other so much she was worried about their relationship too. Maybe it had finally taken a turn in the right direction. "And?"

"And he told me after we left that he was going to ask her to marry him when she's done with her studies."

She wasn't sure if he was upset at the sudden news or if he was upset for a different reason. "Didn't you like her?"

He sighed and stared off across the room. "Yes, I liked her. She's smart and dedicated. She obviously wants to be with Jeb."

"You don't seem very happy."

His eyes went distant and she fought the urge to shake him so he would come back with her. She knew she lost him. Then, abruptly, he was there again and she found herself nearly falling off the couch in shock. She had never seen him snap into the present that fast after his eyes went to a place she couldn't follow. It usually took him most of the day to find his way out of his thoughts. This time it had only taken him a few seconds. "I don't know why it surprised me. I was pretty sure that was what was goin' on yesterday when he invited me to have lunch with them."

"Maybe seeing it made it more real."

"Maybe." He agreed. "She has a nephew she's been takin' care of. He's a sweet boy."

She scrambled to stay with him. "How old is he?"

"Four. He loves Jeb."

"How'd he meet her?"

"She was in his resistance cell."

"They've known each other for awhile then."

He shifted then ran his hand through his hair. "He's so young, Deeg."

Her eyes softened and she reached out and took his hand gently in hers. They were at the heart of the problem now. She thought she could guide him through this if she was careful. "How old were you when you got married?"

"Twenty."

She squeezed his hand. "He's only a few months younger than you were then and he hasn't asked her yet. He's not so young anymore. He couldn't be your little boy forever."

"No." He admitted softly. "But I hardly got my little boy at all."

Her heart clenched and she reached out and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. He didn't even pretend to be annoyed with her this time. He wrapped her up and pulled her against him. She could feel the tension in him and rubbed his shoulders. "I'm sorry, Wyatt. I wish I could make something easy for you."

"Don't sell yourself short." He kissed her forehead. "You make a lot of things easy for me. This just wasn't going to be anything but hard for me to handle."

She squeezed him for another few seconds before reluctantly sitting back. She sent him a tentative smile. "I know this is hard for you to process, but I know you want Jeb to be happy too. I think if he wants to marry her he must love her a lot. He doesn't open himself up very often. No idea where that comes from." His eyes glinted with grudging amusement. "And if he brought you to meet her he does want your approval. He wants a family again. Won't you like that too? I know how much family means to you. Wouldn't it be good to have that in your life again?"

"Yes." His eyes had warmed at the questions. "I would like that."

Her smile got bigger. "So you feel better now?"

"I do."

Thank god. She had actually helped. He had actually _let_ her help. He must be getting sick. There was no other explanation. She supposed she would worry about that when he started sneezing or something. "What is this mystery woman's name?"

"Olivia Stills. Her nephew's name is Sam."

Her eyes began to dance. "Is she pretty?"

He shook his head when he realized she wanted details. "And here I thought you were immune to fallin' into the habit of court gossip."

"This has nothing to do with the court!" She poked him. "I am deeply offended by such an outrageous suggestion! Me! A political sneak! Never! Now, tell me!"

He gave in, mostly because he was amused. "Yes, she's pretty."

She waited, and when he said nothing, she waved her hands. "That's it? She's pretty? That's all your going to tell me? I want details!"

"She's a little taller than you." Then he stopped.

"I'm done with you." She picked her sketchpad up again. "You are utterly impossible. I ask for so little and still you deny me."

"I don't know what you want me to tell you."

"Yes, you do." Her hand flew over the paper that he couldn't see now that she was facing him. Leaning back against the side of the couch she raised her knees so she could use them as an improvised table. "You are being purposefully obstinate."

"I'm doin' no such thing."

"Whatever." She stuck her tongue out at him as she used her pinky to shade a part of the drawing. It was coming together nicely. She was glad she picked her smallest paper. She could finish this in a few more minutes and give it to him before he left.

"She's got red hair and brown eyes. She's slim and isn't overly fussy."

She glanced up with her forehead scrunched. "Overly fussy? What does that mean? Is it man code for something?"

"It means she's aware of how she presents herself but she isn't worried about dressing herself up. She's practical."

"Practical. That explains why you like her."

"What?"

"You're hyper organized and like people that get to the point. You react more positively toward practical people. I think that's why you don't like politicians. They try to run you in circles with crazy schemes. Then you try to destroy them with sarcasm. I really enjoy watching that. It almost makes those stupid meeting bearable."

"I'm glad my annoyance with idiots entertains you."

"It really does. I keep waiting for you to shoot one to make a point." She began to put the finishing touches on her drawing. Cain must have noticed her attention shift to her picture because he went quiet as she worked. Stretching his legs out he looked around the room as he entertained himself. She was glad that they could sit in silence without it becoming awkward. Nothing was worse than an awkward silence in her opinion. Well, maybe a few things, but not many. She was just one of those people that would rather talk than let uncomfortable silence fill a room. It got her in trouble on more than one occasion. But with the tin man it never seemed to be a problem.

Ten minutes later and she let out a happy hum and tossed her pencil on the table. Then she carefully tore the picture out of her sketchpad. She was rather proud of this one. She'd decided to do a portrait of the tin man. Sorta. Instead of drawing him she'd drawn his hat sitting in some long grass. The idea of representing him with his most treasured possessions appealed to her today. Half hidden below the brim, his holster peeked out and the strap was rolled out in a loose loop behind it. Sitting jauntily under the thin leather strap that wrapped around the hat was a tin man badge. She'd taken a few artistic liberties with that part. Instead of a tradition tin man emblem in the center was a general's star. Overall she thoughts she'd captured Cain rather well.

Extending her hand she handed it to him. "There. Done."

He took the paper and looked it over. His head tilted to the side and his lip curled up. "What's this?"

"A portrait of you."

He took the picture in for another few seconds. "Not exactly a traditional one."

"Because when you think tradition you think DG. Really, Tin Man." She leaned forward over her knees and asked him a non-sarcastic question. "Do you like it?"

"I do." A small but genuine smile had crept onto his face.

She smiled happily. "Good. I made you smile too." A slightly shocked look came over his face and she patted his arm. "I was worried when you came in but you seem fine now. Do you want to play a game of cards with me? I don't have anything to do and Ahamo won't let me move any of my meetings back. He's pretty insistent that I have to stay on vacation."

"Sure, Kid. You did promise you would teach me to play poke."

"Poker." She laughed out.

"Poker then."

Nearly giddy with delight at the promised company she bounced off the couch to go get a deck of cards out of her bedroom. When she turned she caught sight of Cain inspecting the picture she'd made him with that smile on his face again. Shaking her head at how easy it was it make him happy sometimes she started digging through her desk again. She found a pair of her sister's earrings. Holding them up she tried to figure out when she began to develop amnesic kleptomania.

Author Note: See? Not even close to a month! Told you!


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Tin Man isn't mine. Boring I know.

Flipping over in her bed she woke up for no reason she could identify. She felt something in the air. Cold. Blinking groggily, she sat up with a yawn and looked around. There was a slight creak and she glanced to the left. Her window was swinging slowly inward as a slight breeze pushed it open. Her forehead scrunched as she pushed the blankets to the end of the bed and got up. She wondered how she had forgotten to shut it. It was part of her routine. She made sure everything was shut and locked before going to sleep. She had been doing it since Cain had given her a detailed description about why safety protocols were important. He had actually unnerved her, which was a feat in itself.

But it had been a busy day and she had been awfully tired when she made it back to her room after holing up with Az until past midnight. She probably just forgot. Her sister had wanted to talk after dinner and she had been more than willing to hang out until well past her usual bedtime. She had been pleased to discover she and her sister had a similar sense of humor when Az wasn't flashing back to what had happened to her. She was easy to talk to and her sister was always patient when she was explaining things to her. She thought Az had probably helped her adjust more than anyone else. Az seemed to anticipate what was going to be a problem or confusing for her before it happened. It was something she was more than a little grateful for, especially when politics were involved. She would be the first to admit she was about as good at them as Cain was. When she put her mind to it she could muddle through, but other people had an advantage when she wasn't entirely clear on things that were common knowledge to anyone that hadn't slipped over. To put it in perspective, it would be like talking to someone in Kansas who had never heard of World War II, or was even remotely aware of the impact it had on world events. Needless to say, she could use all the help Az was willing to give her.

Shaking her head she got to the window and shut it firmly, making sure it was locked. She couldn't forget to do this and she knew it. Putting the latch down she pulled the curtains closed and turned back toward her bed. She could go back to sleep for at least five or six hours since her schedule had been cleared. What a happy thought, nothing to do all day but sleep. Best thing ever. Her simple wish was derailed abruptly. Something hit the side of her face hard and she staggered to the left. Smashing into her dresser she bounced off it and fell to the floor in a heap.

Lifting her head she saw a shadowed figure looming over her and her magic flared to life. Throwing her arm up she hurled a half formed spell at it. She was dazed from the hit and didn't have the concentration to think through a full incantation. The figure let out a shout as he was hurled to his back. Scrambling up, she did what she had been told to if anyone attacked her in the palace. She screamed like a banshee. "Guards!"

She heard a spit curse and then an incredible pressure bore down on her. She was smashed flat to her back into the carpet and all the air was forced out of her lungs in a rush. Magic was weaving around her in hard chains and she struggled like crazy as she began to get dizzy from lack of oxygen. There was a bang on her door as someone tried to get in and then shouting. The noise of the guards faded to the edge of her awareness as the man that was holding her still crouched down beside her. His large eyes peered down at her between long lank locks of oily hair. He made a strange sound in the back of his throat and the smell of an unwashed body cascaded over her. She was forcefully reminded of Smeagol from Lord of the Rings, except with clothes. It was an unhappy comparison and did anything but help her think more clearly.

Wrenching on her light she began to attack the spell holding her down, knowing damn well she wouldn't be able to break it before he pulled out a weapon and killed her. Reaching out he stroked her face with his dirty fingertips as a soft, distracted mumble came out of him. She wasn't sure he was actually talking to her or himself. "Shh, shh, shh. No need to hurry."

Shit. That didn't sound good in any way. It did give her time to fight the magic locked around her though. She struggled harder, increasing her concentration as much as she was able. This spell was the most powerful binding incantation she had ever come in contact with. Her light broke through part of the spell and the man whined and smacked her across the face. He hit the same place he had the first time and she slumped as she teetered on the brink of unconsciousness as the world spun around her. The only thing that kept her from sinking into darkness was the knowledge that she wouldn't wake up again. Not with a crazy person hovering over her about to do god knew what. There was another bang on the door and he clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Don't worry, don't worry. They can't get in. Like I couldn't get out. All the time in the world with you, pretty."

Confusion mixed with fear and pain as she fought to speak. Finally, and with incredible effort, she managed to croak something out. "What…"

He put his hand over her mouth. "No talking. No, no, no. He promised I could show you. He promised. He let me out and he promised. He said I could show you. Do you want to see?" She stared up at him apprehensively. If whatever he wanted to show her would stall him it might not be the worst idea. Time meant help could get to her. "Silly question, pretty. No one wants to see. No one but me." He began to stroke her hair and her stomach knotted in fear. "But he said I could. I want to." His distracted rambling suddenly turned predatory. "I want to show you all the things we could do together. You can pick, pretty. You can pick what we do first, hmm? All the time in the world. I waited for the time."

Her fear turned to panic as he set his hand over her forehead and dark, gooey magic began to seep into her. Images began to form in the front of her mind and she jerked. There was a brief flash of a dark room with rusty chains swinging from the ceiling. She heard a broken scream and another thought was forced into her. This time she saw a pool of blood spreading slowly across the floor with a steady drip. The vision panned and she saw the bottom of someone's foot as blood flowed in a rivulet down around their ankle and to the floor. The vision spun sickeningly and she saw a flash of a wailing woman as she was thrown to rough stone. The images sped up and continued to get progressively more and more gruesome. She convulsed and tired to break away from the terrifying visions but when she struggled they only got worse. Over the screams and disjointed laughter that rolled through the montage she heard a strange metallic banging. It wove through every gruesome scene and tortured scream.

The visions seemed to invade her very being and she realized she couldn't watch anymore. With a massive force of will she pushed the magic back at the man and he let out a low, panicked wine. "No, no, no! Watch, pretty!"

No. She wasn't going to watch this nightmare anymore. Her magic reacted to her determination and she ripped the spell around her away with vicious force. Letting out a strangled snarl she shoved her hands up until they hit the man's chest. Then she let her magic loose. She didn't try to control it or direct it. All she wanted was this horrible man away from her. Her light obeyed her. He was thrown off her and smashed into the wall next to her bed with a sickening type of splat. He toppled down and hit her vanity, knocking it over. Blood was splattered over the wall where he hit and began to drip slowly down after the body it had been in. She scrambled up and against the far wall as more blood seeped out of his chest. He let out a wet groan then went still. Panting and shaking, she got to her feet and stumbled back to the door.

Fumbling for the handle she fell backward into her outer room. One of the guards that had been trying to break in caught her before she hit the ground and dragged her back as two more ran into her room. She pushed out of his arms immediately. The last thing she wanted was for anyone to touch her after that. She retreated to the other side of the room as her magic sparked off her. She didn't even try to rein it in. She was too freaked out to let her defenses down and her magic kept her safe. By the time the first guard came out she was standing between her sofa and the wall. She felt a lot better with a corner at her back and something blocking anything from getting at her from the front.

The man that spoke was clearly angry. "He's dead your highness." She nodded mutely as the things he had put into her head tried to make another appearance. She shoved them down as the guard continued. "I'll go alert your parents."

"Thank you."

"I'm not sure you have anything to thank us for, Your Highness."

With that he vanished out the door and the man that had caught her, Franks she remembered, took a step toward her. He was trying to pull a chair out for her but she shied away from him. He froze at the sudden retreat and left her space entirely. "Do you need anything, Princess?" He took her in and indicated her cheek. "Ice?"

The moment she acknowledged she'd been hit repeatedly her face began to throb. She thought that was terribly unfair. "No, but thank you for asking." She tried to smile. "I'm fine." Or the opposite of that. She thought Franks knew but he didn't push the subject. She wasn't sure if it was because she was a princess or clearly spooked. Whatever his reason, she was glad he kept his distance.

She didn't know how long she stood there shaking before Ahamo burst in. If she hadn't been frightened, sickened, and in pain she might have laughed. His normally frizzy hair was a wreck. It was making an odd halo around his head and he looked a little ridiculous in the nightshirt he was wearing. The comical picture he made vanished as soon as his eyes fell on her. They blazed with fury and he came at her as Lavender walked in next to the guard that had gone to fetch her.

"Spitfire? What happened?" He reached out and she took an involuntary step back. Her back hit the wall and she held her hands up to prevent him from touching her. He stopped dead and she tried to regain control of herself.

"Don't." He wavered with his hands out to her. "It's fine…Just… don't touch me right now."

Slowly he dropped his arms, although she could tell she was scaring him. It wasn't like her to avoid physical contact let alone ask someone to stay back. At least not someone she knew. Ahamo took a deep breath as her mother stepped up beside him. Violet eyes scanned her and the calm Lavender seemed to exude helped her relax a bit. "What happened, DG?"

She cleared her throat and answered her mother. "I'm not really sure. I woke up and my window was open. I thought I forgot to lock it and the wind blew it in. I shut it and when I turned around that man-" She wavered. She thought monster was a more appropriate term but was determined to keep this whole incident as emotionally manageable as possible. That meant straight facts. She wasn't going to let her dramatic flair out to play right now. "-that man was in my room. He hit me and I fell. Then I yelled for the guards. He had magic. They couldn't get in and he pinned me to the floor with it."

"What kind of magic?" Lavender continued on calmly despite the anger in her eyes but her father was about to snap. His jaw was clenched and she was sure his fingers were twitching because he wanted to pull out one of his knives.

"It felt sticky." She pulled the word out when she remembered it oozing into her. "I tried to knock the spell off and he hit me again. Then he-" She stopped briefly and regained control. "He shoved images into my head. It was like the opposite of what a viewer does. I don't know why. I think he was crazy. He wasn't talking like a normal person. I finally threw the spell off and then threw him against the wall." Her voice faded to almost nothing at the end of the confession.

Ahamo seemed unable to continue to stand still and stalked into her bedroom to see what was going on for himself. Lavender continued to question her as Franks hung in the background listening for details. She didn't blame him. She was sure he was going to questioned about this whole incident at least a hundred and fifty times before morning. "Are you hurt anywhere else?"

"No."

She nodded and continued. "What kind of things did he show you?"

She pushed her tangled hair out of her eyes as she answered. She realized for the first time that she was in nothing but a thin purple nightgown that barely brushed the top of her knees. Hardly appropriate to be talking to people in. Especially in the O.Z. She found she didn't really care about propriety at the moment. "People, people being tortured. Prison cells. Blood." She swallowed. "He was laughing. Right before he showed me he said I could pick what we did first."

That sent her mother's temper over the edge. She felt rage radiating out of her even if her expression didn't change in the slightest. She knew she wasn't imaging it when Franks began to shift nervously. "I see." Her voice was frigid. "Did he say anything else?"

She searched her memory. Everything seemed to have happened very fast and was running together. "He said something about not being able to get out and someone sending him."

"Who sent him?"

She waved her hands helplessly. "He just said 'he'."

"Did he say anything more specific?"

"No, I'm sorry."

Her mother's expression shifted from angry to worried. "You have no reason to be sorry. This wasn't your fault." She held her hand out in an easy curve. "Come, My Angel. Let's find you somewhere else to sleep. Your father and I will take care of this." Abandoning her corner in favor of being anywhere else she allowed her mother to usher her out into the hallway. Her bare feet were chilled within seconds from the cold metal floor but instead of being annoyed she focused on the cold. It was better to think about that than what had just happened to her.

They walked down the hall and at the end her mother stopped in front of a door. Franks, who had been following them, pushed it open and began to search it. While he was making sure it was safe she shifted her weight. "How did he get in? I thought there were protective spells."

Her mother nodded. "There are. I have no idea how he got in. Clearly this is more than a one-time incident. I had hoped it was but now I see I was wrong. Tutor and I will get to the bottom of this."

"Do you want me to help?" She'd much rather do that than nothing. She did not want to be alone with her thoughts.

"You've done more than enough. I don't want you to worry about anything else tonight."

She opened her mouth to tell her mother worry was a given when Franks came out. "It's safe, Your Majesty."

"Thank you." Her mother followed her inside the room and shut the door gently behind them. The guard didn't take it personally as he slid to the other side of the hall. Her mother looked at her for a moment and she shifted again. "My Angel, did anything else happen? Other than the images and magic?"

She answered hurriedly. "No."

"You're sure?"

She nodded quickly. "Yeah."

"All right." Lavender still seemed unsure but didn't press the issue. "Try to rest. We can talk about this once you're feeling better."

"Okay."

Reaching out her mother brushed her cheek. "Would you like me to have Raw come to look at you?"

And let him feel what she was? Absolutely not. The last thing she wanted was to make her gentle friend deal with the amount of disgust and fear that was coursing through her. "I'll be fine until tomorrow. I don't want to wake him up. It's only a bruise."

"Very well. Try to rest."

"Sure. Goodnight." Her mother left after one last look at her and she was left alone in the strange room. The second the door shut she went into the bathroom and started digging for a washcloth and soap. She needed to get the feel of that man and his magic off of her. Turning the water on as hot as it would go she began to scrub at her face, completely ignoring the added pain it caused. By the time she was satisfied her skin was pink from rubbing. Tossing the cloth down she braced her arms on the counter and stared down at the sink. Now that she was sure she was clean her fear returned with a vengeance.

In that instant she knew she wouldn't be able to stay in here by herself. There was no way. Stepping away from the sink she quickly built an illusion of herself. She didn't want anyone to freak out if they came in looking for her, but she wasn't holing up here. Forget it. She hated to admit it but she needed some comfort right now. A few seconds later and she was looking at a mirror image of herself. She flinched at her illusion when she saw how bad her face really looked. She was thankful she could weave her memories into it and didn't need to explain herself.

As soon as her illusion solidified she abandoned the room and teleported down two stories. She didn't feel remotely safe and wanted to desperately. There was one place she knew she would feel safe even if the world was about to explode. Her magic took her to the tin man's door. He was going to blow a gasket when he saw her but she didn't care. Knocking firmly she stood shivering out in the hall and realized she really should have thrown a robe on but that wasn't an option at this point.

A few seconds later and the tin man growled on the other side of the door. "This better be damn important." He wrenched the door open and she blasted into his chest before it was all the way open. He grunted and caught her as he staggered back a few inches. "Kid?" She clutched at his unbuttoned shirt and shoved her head under his chin as her shaking increased. He put his hand on the back of her head and she felt him looking up and down the hall for whatever scared her. "DG? What's the matter?"

Author Note: I'm starting to feel bad over the amount of horrible situations I put this character in. Especially when she's just trying to sleep… oh well! Leave me a review to brighten my day! I have class until I die and would love to come back to find happy comments ;)


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own Tin Man but the characters seem to have a fondness for me.

There was a quick, loud rap on his outer door. His eyes snapped open at the sound and he pushed his blanket away with a sigh. It was too damn late for anybody to be bothering him. There better be an army bearing down on the border. Wrenching his bedroom door open he stalked into the main room as he began to button up the shirt he'd snatched off the top of his dresser. "This better be damn important."

Yanking the door open he caught sight of a blur of movement before the kid smashed into him. She hit him so hard he tripped backward before catching himself. "Kid?" Deeg latched onto him like a leech and she was shaking so hard she was sending vibrations through him. He put his hand on the back of her head and searched the area for whatever had her blasting in here in the middle of the night. "DG? What's the matter?"

"I can't make the pictures go away." That made no sense at all. He tried to shake the sleep off of himself. Something was going on or she wouldn't be here.

"What? What pictures?" Pulling her inside he shut the door and locked it with a sharp click. If something was after her he wanted a barrier between it and them. If she wasn't being attacked he didn't want rumors about her in here starting. It wouldn't look good. "Deeg, you're shakin' like a leaf. Did you have a nightmare?"

"No." She spoke into his neck. "He was in my room. He made me see things. They weren't right."

He was on the edge in an instant. No one should have been in her room. He snapped at her as his temper got the better of him. "Who was in your room?"

"He's dead. I killed him." Her words were running together. "Don't make me leave. I don't want to be by myself. They left me alone."

"Calm down, Deeg." He rubbed her back and held her close. He needed details. He needed to know why she had to kill again. "You need to go slower for me."

She nodded and took a deep breath. He could tell the kid was reining herself in as she tried again. She managed to put some space between her words. "I think he came in through the window. I thought I left it open and got up to shut it. When I turned around he jumped me. I don't know what he did. He showed me things. We fought. He had some magic but I killed him. My parents moved me to a different room because mine is trashed. Then Lavender left. I was afraid to go back to sleep and the pictures won't stop."

Someone got into her room and attacked her? He saw red. He was going to kill her guards. She'd already killed whoever the hell attacked her. He had to kill someone for this. "Stay here, DG. I need to go-"

"No!" She actually started to beg. It was so unlike her that he was unnerved by it. The kid didn't act this way and she sure as hell didn't beg for anything. She rarely asked for things. "They're already checking. Please, please, don't go anywhere."

He patted her back and let her waist go just long enough to turn the light on. As soon as the lamp came to life and filled part of the sitting room he wrapped her back up. If she was this panicked he wasn't going to leave her. He could kill someone in the morning after she'd calmed down. "It's okay, Darlin'. I'll stay with you." He crooned at her as he shoved his anger to the back burner. It wouldn't help to scare her more than she already was. She nodded gratefully into his neck and continued to hold onto him like a lifeline. His voice dropped to a low rumble and he stroked his hand over her hair. "Easy, Kid."

He pulled her farther into the room but she refused to move her head or loosen her grip. Moving to the left he lowered them down to the sofa. Somehow she managed to curl up over him without moving her head. He wasn't sure how she could bend that way but he figured now wasn't the time to put too much thought into it. Deeg managed to let go of his shirt long enough to wrap her arms around his shoulders instead then tried to get closer to him. He tried to adjust her into a more comfortable position for both of them but when he jostled her she went stiff as her fingers dug into his skin. He flinched as her nails scratched him through the fabric of his shirt and he figured she realized what she'd done when she bit out a strangled apology and loosened her grip a smidge. "Sorry, Cain. I can't get it to stop."

He ran his hand through her hair soothingly. "What can't you stop?" Reaching over he grabbed the blanket sitting on the edge of the couch and draped it over her. He didn't want her to freeze to death in the nightgown she had on. It barely covered any of her and was ridding dangerously high up on her thighs.

"He showed me things."

"Showed you?" He didn't like the sound of that at all.

"With his magic." Her hand left him long enough to grab the edge of the blanket and wrap it more firmly around her shoulders. "It was bad. No one should want to do those things." Her shaking increased. "He said I got to pick what we did first. It wasn't right." Her voice dropped. "I didn't want to see that. He wanted to _do_ things to me. I didn't even know things like that were possible."

His stomach rolled. The kid wasn't innocent or as protected as her parents would have liked. She had said a few things off hand that made him wonder if innocent was even in her vocabulary. If she didn't know something was possible he wasn't sure exactly what she had been forced to see. "He can't do anything now."

"I can still see it. It won't go away."

"Deeg, focus on somethin' else. Come on." He stroked her neck and she nodded as her grip on him tightened. "That's my girl. It's all right." It wasn't all right at all but he could deal with making it all right soon. One thing at a time.

"I'm afraid." Her voice broke midway through the confession.

"I know. Nothin' wrong with that. You're allowed to be afraid."

"I don't know how he got in." This wasn't exactly the change in direction he wanted her to take. "I know I locked the window. I always lock the windows. You told me to lock the windows." She was rambling. "I'm on the eight story. I should have felt the magic-"

"We can worry about that in the mornin'." He rubbed her neck more firmly. "I'm sure someone else is worryin' about that for you right at this moment."

She took a breath. "I'm spazzing." She nodded into his shoulder before he could say anything. "And clinging." Her fingers loosened abruptly. "Momentary freak out. I'm okay."

He squeezed her arm gently. He knew she was really asking him if she was making herself look stupid. She was oddly insecure sometimes. It seemed to crop up when she was afraid and she was certainly that. "I know you are."

She sighed into his neck. "I woke you up didn't I?"

He almost smiled. "No, I had to get up to answer the door anyway."

That got a rather strangled laugh out of her. The laugh made her body loosen up and her shivering slowed down dramatically. "Dork."

This time he did smile. Bending his neck he kissed the top of her head. "Do you want to try to unbend a bit? This can't be comfortable for you."

She hesitated. "Umm, no. I'm good."

He tried not to move as he made it more of a personal request. "Kid, your knee is diggin' into my kidney."

"Sorry." She stretched out the appendage in question and he let out a relieved breath. One thing at a time.

"Better. How about your neck next."

"No." This time there wasn't any hesitation at all.

He ran his fingers over said body part. He thought she was probably afraid that he was going to make her move if she complied with any more requests. He wasn't. She was frightened and she was tactile by nature. Physical contact calmed her down. "You can sit on me all you want, Deeg, but you're all hunched up. You're going to get stiff."

She was quiet for a second. "You can't freak out."

His forehead furrowed. "What?"

Her fingers flexed over his shoulders again. "I told you we fought… I have a bruise."

His temper flared back up. "Look at me." His voice was hard as steel. She was hurt and hiding it from him. That was why she was doing contortions.

Slowly, she moved her head away from his shoulder and he caught sight of her face. The entire right side was black and blue and he could see the bruise wasn't done spreading by a long shot. He went still all over and she shrank down as she mumbled. "It's not that bad."

"Half of your face is bruised!" She shifted nervously at the sharp tone and he caught the uninjured side of her face and held her still as she tried to look away from him. "Stop fidgeting." He forcefully made himself calm down. It took most of his self-control, which was really saying something. Turning her head slightly toward the light from the lamp he inspected the injury critically. The discoloration was so bad he couldn't tell where it had started. "Did he hit your cheek or your jaw?"

"Cheek." She winced when he carefully brushed the area with his fingertips. "Twice."

There were a lot of things he wanted to say at that moment but he was sure none of them would make him feel a damn bit better and would scare the hell out of Deeg. Pressing his lips together he took a slow breath, that really sounded more like a growl, before speaking. "Why hasn't Raw looked at you yet?"

She lost eye contact completely and glanced up at the ceiling. "He feels things, Cain. I didn't want him to." A litany of curses ran through the forefront of his mind. The kid started to tremble again. "I just wanted to see you." A tear slipped down her cheek. "You always make me feel better. I wanted to feel better first."

He pulled her into a hug immediately at the confession. He found he was a lot more protective and a lot less angry all at once. He never in his life thought the kid would admit that she might need some reassurance. She was so independent it seemed like it would be a foreign concept to her. He was glad she had come to him even if she had scared the hell out of him.

"Okay." Relief filled her eyes and curled up in a less awkward position over him. Her head went to the place between his neck and shoulder and she burrowed as close to him as she could get. "It's all right."

"You're angry."

He ran his fingers through her hair. "Not with you. I'm sorry I snapped."

"It's okay. I pretty much figured you were going to blow a gasket when I came." With that she went quiet and still. The only thing he could hear in the room was her gentle breathing and the ticking of the small clock that was sitting on one of the tables in the corner. He continued to run his fingers through her hair in a gentle pattern and her body slowly relaxed until her curves seemed to melt into him. He told himself to think about something other than the smell of her hair and the warmth of her against him. His rage over the whole incident kept his body under control for awhile, but even that started to fade as the minutes ticked by.

When he knew he couldn't keep her against him any longer without embarrassing both of them his hand left her hair and ran an easy circle over her upper back. "We need to get somethin' for your cheek, Darlin'." She sat up with a reluctant sigh and he helped her to her feet. Tossing the blanket back to the couch cushions he turned her toward his bedroom and urged her forward. "I've got some pain killers in the bathroom. It'll make the throbbing stop."

"That would be nice." She tried to inject some humor into the situation. "Although being able to take my own pulse by it is pretty neat."

"You're insights never cease to amaze me, Princess."

"That's why I share them with you."

He shook his head in amusement and guided her through his bedroom and into the bathroom. Flipping the light on had her blinking spots out of her eyes for a few seconds as he started shuffling through his cabinets. He found the small glass bottle with the low-level painkillers he tended to use for occasional headaches and opened the top. When he turned around he could see she was pale under the bruising despite the absence of trembling and he set the pills down. Grabbing her waist he set her on the counter and she squeaked in surprise. He ignored that and handed her three of them before grabbing a glass off the back of the sink and filling it with water.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome." She tossed the pills back and swallowed them in a go. Setting the glass to the side she gave him a lopsided smile. "I think it looks a lot worse than it feels. Not that it feels good, but you don't need to keep staring at me that way. I'm not going to shatter."

Reaching out he pushed her hair behind her ear. "You burst in here at four in the morning telling me someone attacked you, scared out of your mind, and your face looks likes this. I'm ruffled."

"I didn't mean to ruffle you. Especially before the first sun was up. I should have run in here with a pot of coffee in preparation for the freak out."

He was sure that would have gone wrong. "You would have burned me with it."

Her eyes sparked with humor. He was glad. Fear didn't suit her in the slightest. "I would have. Coffee everywhere. Third degree burns. Concussion from the carafe. Tragic."

He smiled at her. "I suppose the coffee would have woken me up either way."

"That's true. One way would have just been much more unpleasant." She leaned into his hand and he realized he was still touching her. The kid sent him a big-eyed stare. "Do you mind if I crash on your couch for a couple of hours?"

That was a term he hadn't heard out of her before. "Crash?"

"Sleep."

"Yes, I mind." She blinked in surprise. "You're not sleeping on the couch when there's a bed."

"I'm not taking over your bed."

"Yes, you are."

She glared at him. She wasn't all that intimidating with her hair in tangled curls and the small purple nightgown. "No. It's your bed."

"And I'm putting you in it." He rubbed her skin.

"I wish you would stop being thoughtful and considerate all the time. It's abnormal behavior."

His eyebrow popped up. "Being a gentleman is abnormal behavior?"

"Yes. You're far too nice to me for no apparent reason. You really need to stop. If you did I wouldn't run in here at four in the morning so you could comfort me by snarling at the world in general while hugging me. It's weird to me that I find that reassurance in that."

He chuckled softly. He realized her description of him when she was drunk was fairly accurate. He used her own term for it. "I'll try to be less emotionally complex for you."

She opened her mouth and then a line appeared on her forehead as her gaze went distant. He could see the confusion in her eyes as she tried to work something out. "Emotionally complex? That sounds oddly familiar."

He shrugged. He didn't really want her to think about that too much. The last thing she needed was to flash back to the last time she had killed someone. He would have to calm her down all over again and he'd rather keep her calm to begin with. "Come on, Kid. You should try to get some sleep while you can. I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be hectic for both of us."

"You know this is really the most craptastic vacation I've ever had."

"I'd hate to hear what may have happened on one that was worse than this."

She slid off the counter and he caught a flash of her upper thigh that he tried to ignore. "Right?" She sighed. "All I wanted to do was sleep in."

"You can sleep as long as you want." He shooed her into the bedroom.

"Can I please have the couch?" He could tell she already knew she wasn't going to win this argument by the tone of her voice. He wondered why she was even bothering.

"No."

"Are your windows locked?"

"I promise they are. If I hear so much as a creak I'll come in shooting."

"As long as you aren't shooting me." He smiled and headed toward the door after snatching one of the pillows off the mattress. He made it a foot before her hand caught his wrist. He turned around and she went up on her toes and kissed his cheek. "Thank you, Wyatt."

Twisting his arm he wrapped it around her waist and tugged her to him. Kissing her forehead gently he whispered into her hair. "You're welcome, Darlin'." Kissing her hair one last time he let her go. "Go to sleep. I'll be in the other room if you need anything."

She nodded and he thought he saw her cheeks flush slightly before she turned around. Closing the door about halfway so he could hear what was going on he repressed a sigh as he tossed the pillow on his couch. He was starting to toe the already narrow line he'd been on with her. It was only a matter of time before that line snapped. He wasn't sure what they were going to drop into when they fell but he knew they were going to find out soon.

Disclaimer: Well, it's Tuesday again. The day of horror and many classes. Sighhhh. I need coffee before this starts I think. Caffeine away!


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: … I think I've said this once or twice before but here goes… Tin Man is not my property.

It had been a long day. He'd been up since dawn and he hadn't been able to stop moving. It was now well past midnight and he was exhausted. The queen and consort were on a warpath after the second attack on one of their daughters. He decided, about two hours in, that he really preferred Ahamo's smoldering rage to the queen's silent wrath. The woman was downright scary when she put her mind to it. He was surprised she hadn't managed to vaporize the witch with her glare when she took over. He was no longer curious about where the kid got that temper of hers. He'd always thought it was Ahamo. He was wrong about that. It wouldn't be the first time.

Reaching up he rubbed his bleary eyes before going back to the report. He'd taken over most of Jeb's assignments so his son could focus on whatever was after the princesses. His son had experience in gathering information and the contacts to help. Jeb vanished early in the day to the get the wheels in motion and he'd been trying to stay on top of everything since. It hadn't been the most pleasant day and even Deeg hadn't managed to sleep more than an hour or two.

He had walked into his room as quietly as possible, which for him was without a sound, to get a change of clothes and she bolted awake. Her magic fanned over him and he shuddered at the unexpected sensation as she came awake. "It's only me, Kiddo." The princess looked at her surrounding in confusion for a second as she remembered how she got here. "Did you put a protection spell on yourself?"

"Umm." Her forehead scrunched up as she lifted her hands to her face. Her light flickered as she assessed it. "I guess I must have. Don't tell Tutor. I'm not supposed to do that on accident anymore."

"Why?" He opened his closet as he asked and began to dig out a clean shirt.

"He said only inexperienced mages did that. Apparently, in his opinion, I became experienced about six months ago."

"I won't tell him." It wasn't like he and the mutt spent much time together. He'd never really gotten over what the man did while they were running from the witch. Tutor might be loyal to the royal family but deep down he was sure the mage was more loyal to his own skin no matter how hard he'd been working with Deeg. He'd never said as much out loud, there was no point in making waves, but he could feel it on the dog. His gut told him should another crisis occur the last person he should be depending on was Tutor. He'd turn tail and run on them. "You should go ahead and leave one on yourself on purpose though. Why don't you do that and go back to sleep?"

"Shouldn't." She sighed as she got up. He saw dark circles under her eyes as she pushed her tangled hair out of her face. He was sure this wasn't the first night she'd lost sleep since they got back. Not after what had happened at Finaqua. "Need to go before anyone knows I left my room. They'll flip out and I'm pretty sure Az'll be able to figure out I made an illusion."

He could see there was no point in arguing with her. "Get Raw to look at you."

"I will once I know he's awake." She sent him a crooked smile that failed to make him feel much better seeing as her bruise stopped it from reaching as far as it usually did. "I'll see you in a little while, Tin Man." He'd nodded and she vanished with another wave of warm magic.

A little while had turned out to be about thirteen hours, but at least when she'd showed up at his door at about ten her face had been healed. The kid had come with a gift as well. When he raised a curious eyebrow at the basket she had in her arms the princess simply shrugged and walked in. "You haven't eaten today have you?"

"I have." He defended himself.

Stopping, she eyeballed him as she kicked the door shut with the back of her boot. "Coffee isn't food." He rolled his eyes, realizing he'd been caught by her once again, and she shook her head. "I don't understand you. I mean, you're kinda a big guy, you had to get that way somehow."

He grumbled as she handed him the basket. It was damn heavy. Lifting the blue cloth that had been tucked around the top he found enough food to feed them both for a week. "I don't think about it."

"How can you not think about it? When you're hungry your stomach tends to tell you with its oh so subtle signals. You know, that thing where it growls at you." She took the basket back and walked to his coffee table. "That noise signals a fundamental and biological need to eat."

He decided to go with honest to get her to leave him alone. Deeg had been hounding him about this for months now. He could see she was stuck on it and wasn't going to leave him alone until he either explained himself or she bullied him into agreeing with her. The only reason she hadn't gotten him to submit yet was because he kept retreating when she brought the subject up. However, he'd made a promise to himself to stop doing that and he was going to follow through with it.

He decided not to contemplate how a hundred and twenty pound princess was capable of bullying him to begin with. It would only lead to acknowledging that he was no way in control of this relationship. He wasn't sure how he'd lost control. He sighed internally. All right, he'd never had control. Not once. Not even when he was mad as all hell and fresh out of the suit intent on vengeance. The girl had him figured out and under her thumb in under ten minutes. She had him the second she told him off. He never could walk away from a fight, especially one with a feisty and stubborn woman. "I made myself stop thinking about it."

He saw a brief moment of perplexity before understanding snapped through her. "Oh." She jumped through a variety of emotions too fast for him to identify before she pushed on as if this revelation was completely trivial. He knew she did it for him. Taking out plates and cutlery she started setting the table. "Only one thing to do then."

"What's that?"

"Pester you until you make yourself remember." He didn't know whether to laugh or sigh as he sat down across from her and started to put things on his plate. Deeg simply grinned teasingly at him before asking him where he'd been all day. When they finished their meal Deeg had magicked the mess away before retreating to the couch. Her sketchpad and several pencils were in her lap with another small spark of magic and she made herself comfortable as he picked up another report.

An hour later he looked up from the order he was writing to send out the next morning and found Deeg had fallen asleep on the couch. Her sketchpad was sitting at the strangest angle propped up between her leg and the cushion and the pencil she'd been using was dangling loosely between her thumb and forefinger. Finishing the message he set it to the side on the small table next to his elbow.

He wasn't happy about this. It was insane. The kid shouldn't be so frightened of her own room that she was falling asleep in here. She'd never done this before no matter how long they'd been awake dealing with things. Not that blamed her. He wouldn't want to sleep alone after someone jumped him either, let alone if some sort of insidious nightmares had been forced into his head. He grimaced as memories assaulted him. He certainly understood why she was in here.

Standing up, he moved to her and carefully took the pencil and sketchpad before bending over her. Scoping her up he cradled her carefully as he turned toward the bedroom. The princess twitched then came half awake. "Wyatt?"

"It's all right, Darlin'."

"Where are we going?" She asked in groggy confusion.

"To bed."

She turned her head into his shoulder. "My room smells like blood. Don't want to go there."

He wondered if it really smelled like blood or if she was imaging it again. It might be some sort of reaction to the memory of killing someone that set the smell off in her head. He'd need to talk to her about that once she rested. If it was, he was sure she'd never be able to live in her suit again. Deeg would have to be moved or she wouldn't be able to sleep. "I'm not takin' you to your room." He assured her softly while pushing his door and moving toward the side of the bed.

"Then where-" He set her down gently and was reaching down to pull the blanket up over her when she pushed herself up. She was blinking awake quickly. "This is your bed."

"You noticed."

She sighed. "I'm not sleeping here again."

"Why?" He sat down next to her. "The mattress too lumpy for you, Princess?"

She rubbed at her face tiredly. "Yes, that's it exactly. My delicate palace upbringing has made me highly sensitive to lumps in mattresses. I can actually feel a single pea through several dozen."

He raised an eyebrow. "Why are you sleeping on vegetables?"

She shook her head as her hand flopped to her lap. "You know, while I completely understand why the reference flew over your head, and admittedly that's my fault, I have to wonder about exactly how weird I must be for you to honestly think I'm sleeping on produce."

"Do you want me to answer that?"

"No. No, I really don't."

"Should I ask what you were referencing?"

"A children's story from the Otherside. I'll tell you about it tomorrow." She swung her legs off the bed. "But now I'm going to go."

"Back to your room that smells like blood? You didn't seem to keen on that about two minutes ago."

"No, the room Lavender shoved me into yesterday."

Reaching out he rubbed her cheek with his knuckles briefly. He was glad it was back to its normal pale color. "Are you goin' to be able to sleep there?" He didn't see a reason to tiptoe around this issue with her. They both preferred straightforwardness.

"I'll put on my big girl panties and find out."

That tore a chuckle out of him. Her lips twitched badly as he laughed and he knew she was proud of herself for surprising the sound out of him. "Kid, I'm constantly shocked with the things that come out of your mouth."

"I'm glad I'm still able to surprise you." Standing up she patted his arm. "Goodnight, Tin Man."

A sudden and unmanageable urge to keep her with him slammed through him. He found he wasn't at all comfortable with her out of his sight, or at least his hearing, after what happened. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if something happened to her and he wasn't there to help. That she wasn't even safe in her own room in the magically protected palace was clearly apparent. His stomach knotted when he realized that she very easily could be dead after last night. If her attacker had been even close to sane she would be. If she wasn't as good with her magic as she was the kid would be worse off than dead. He didn't want to think about it.

He caught her around the waist as she took a step away. She paused and looked down at him. Meeting her eyes he was completely honest with her. "It would make me feel better if you stayed here."

"I'm not making you sleep on the couch again."

"I've slept on worse things."

"But not on produce?"

He smiled. "Not yet."

"Good, because that would make you totally weird in my book. Even weirder than I think you are for liking to fly fish." Before he could respond to the jab she reached out and put her hand on his shoulder. "I can't hide in your room forever." The teasing was gone as soon as she said it. She'd switched over to serious in an instant. "Not that I don't appreciate you letting me hole up in here all evening."

"There's a difference between hidin' and bein' safe."

"You're giving me an escape route." Her eyes were searching his. "Why? It's not like you, Mr. Head On."

No, it wasn't. But this wasn't a trivial matter. This was about keeping her alive. "It's not an escape route. I want you somewhere safe and the only place that comes to mind is here. I don't want you gettin' hurt, Deeg."

Her eyes flickered with affection and stubbornness. "You can't protect me from everything."

"Because you won't let me."

He saw sadness in her eyes for the briefest instant. "It isn't your job to take care of me."

"Maybe I want it to be."

She huffed at him. "So what? You're going to retire as a general and become my bodyguard? I don't think so. We'd end up killing each other and you know it. We've talked about this before. We're both too stubborn for that." He remembered that conversation. As he recalled they'd gotten in a yelling match for a good fifteen minutes before Glitch pointed out they were arguing exactly the same point. He'd been annoyed that the headcase was right.

"That wasn't what I meant."

The hand on his shoulder twitched slightly as she watched him. "Then what did you mean?"

He subtly tightened his grip on her so she couldn't bolt. "How long are we goin' to dance around this, Darlin'?"

Her eyes flickered uneasily. "I don't know what you're talking about."

He met her eyes levelly. He wasn't going to let her glib her way out of this. "Yes, you do." Moving quickly he set her back on the bed before standing up. Leaning down he cupped her cheek and kissed her forehead. "Go to sleep, Deeg. We'll both feel better if you're in here."

She was starring at him uncertainly as he leaned past her and grabbed a pillow. He left quietly after pulling the door closed a bit and he could feel her eyes on his back as he retreated. Tossing his pillow on the couch he turned off the lights and laid down tiredly. He was out in a few minutes and was sleeping soundly for at least a few hours before he felt the air shift next to him. His hand twitched toward his gun until he heard the kid calling his name.

"Cain." Deeg shook his shoulder and he opened his eyes. When she saw he was awake she straightened and held the blanket she dragged off his bed around her tightly. He saw she'd used her magic to call another too short nightgown to her. This one was green and silky. He wondered why she was torturing him. He didn't feel he deserved it really. "What did you mean?"

He tried to kick his brain into gear and away from her bare legs peeking out from behind the blanket. "What?"

"What did you mean?" She hovered in front of him as her emotions jumped up a notch. "You can't just say unusually cryptic things to me and then walk away like nothing happened!"

He wasn't awake enough to deal with this right now. "Can we talk about this in the mornin'? When I'm actually rested?"

Her jaw set and he knew that had been the wrong thing to say. "No! We can talk about this now!" Groaning, he pushed his own blanket away and stood up. Deeg watched him and he swore she was about to stomp her foot like a petulant child. He only had himself to blame for this. He knew better than to push her gently toward a subject so she could mull over it and make a rational and well thought out decision. He should have just let the whole thing spill out at once and been done with it. Now she wasn't going to give him the option. Moving forward he picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder. She squeaked in shock as the blanket tangled around her. "This is not talking, Cain! This is manhandling me!"

"It's too late in the day for you to be screechin' at me."

She spluttered indignantly as he took her back in the bedroom. "Are you trying to drive me insane? Is that your goal? I haven't slept for more than five hours in four days and you're accusing me of nagging? Just tell me what you were talking about so I can sleep!"

"I don't know why we can't talk about this in the mornin'. I would think it could wait another few hours seein' as we've been at this for at least the last twelve months." Flipping her over carefully he tossed her on the bed before realizing he forgot his pillow in the living room. Turning he went to go get it as Deeg tried to untangle herself.

"What?" She snarled at the blanket. "Get back here!" He rolled his eyes as he snatched the pillow up and walked back into the room. The kid had managed to free herself and was trying to get off the bed. She got her feet to the carpet and levered herself up. As soon as she was steady she glared at him. "Explain!"

He tossed the pillow past her and looked down at her. There were a few ways he could go about this really. Some ways would be better than others. He could tell her about her drunken confession. He could point out they'd been flirting back and forth for some time now. He could even mention that they'd been doing much more than flirting the last few days. He could remind her she'd come to him after she'd been attack, not anyone else. Any of those options would work. Any of them would be safer than what he did instead.

Reaching out he wrapped his hand around the back of her neck and pulled her to him before she could process what was happening. His other arm curled around her waist and pressed her flush against him as he leaned down he pressed his lips gently over hers. She let out a gasp that he muffled away and then her arms were around his shoulders and she was pushing up against him in a kiss that was anything but gentle or chaste.

Author Note: Sorry about the delay. School has kicked into full gear. Let me know what you thought. I always enjoy your thoughts. :)


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: Tin Man isn't mine!

She couldn't sleep. She'd tried for nearly two hours. She was wiped out. Utterly exhausted physically, mentally, and emotionally. She was done. The world could have been ending and she still should have been able to fall asleep without the slightest problem. But, no. The tin man had to go and mess with her head in the special way only he could. She was furious that he would to this to her. She couldn't lay here all night thinking about it. So she got up. If she couldn't sleep he wasn't going to either. She didn't care that he was sleeping on his couch after giving her the bed. Saying mysterious things negated all gentlemanly acts as far as she was concerned.

She didn't know what she was expecting when she woke him up, but having Cain pull her into an embrace and kiss her passionately wasn't anywhere on the list. Well, maybe on the never going to happen list. She didn't take a lot of time to assess either list though, because any ability she had to use her brain pretty much failed in the face of what was going on. Wrapping her arms around his shoulders so he couldn't escape she pressed into him eagerly. At her reaction to the unexpected, if non-verbal confession, he tightened his hold on her. Gripping the back of her neck firmly he deepened the kiss and groaned into her.

Her head spun in a happy daze and the arm he had around her waist clenched further. Breaking the kiss he bent his head and started pressing his lips along her jaw in a hot slow trail. A shudder tore down her spine and a whimper escaped her as lust nearly overwhelmed her. Her body melted against his and began reporting back happily on what it was learning. Never once had she felt anything like this. She felt like she was going to catch on fire. Or possibly explode. Or maybe do both at once. God she hoped she didn't do any of that because she was fairly sure Cain would stop kissing her if that happened.

His lips pressed back against hers and an unpleasant thought struck and stuck out of nowhere even as her fingers tangled in the hair at the nape of his neck. The tin man was kissing her. Panic the likes of which she rarely experienced tore through the desire that was clouding her judgment. This was Wyatt. This was the man that she loved. And she really meant loved. She hadn't known feelings like this existed until she met him and she didn't know what to do about it. Half the time she could barely concentrate with him in the room and the other half she was trying to get him back in the moment with her. Now he was definitely in the moment and all she could think was that in a few seconds he would run off in his head again. Except she wasn't sure how to drag him out with her if it was her he was running from. God damn it all to hell. She couldn't do this without loosing him. He couldn't do this and stay sane. They couldn't do this and stay friends.

Tearing her mouth away she pushed off of him before she couldn't think straight anymore. "We can't!"

He grunted in surprise as she stumbled away from her. "What?" It was clear from the tone of his voice that he was trying to get a grip on the situation as she went from welcoming to running. She could sympathize with that. She felt like someone had thrown a pail of cold water over her then chucked the bucket at her head when they were done for good measure.

"We can't. We can't do this. It'll ruin everything." She was babbling a mile a minute. "I don't want to loose you and this will just screw everything up. I suck with relationships and you'll try to go on some massive guilt trip about this in the morning. I can't handle that. I don't want you guilty because of me."

"Deeg-"

She cut him off. "I should go."

"Now wait a second!" He grabbed her wrist when she tried to move to the door and spun her with a quick twist of his arm. Her back ended up thumping into his chest as his arm clamped around her waist. She really should have just teleported away. She couldn't now. Not with him holding her. They'd both end up wherever she took them. She wasn't advanced enough in her magic to separate her essence from whoever was touching her. "You don't get to bolt down your hole until we at least talk about this, Darlin'."

She was insanely glad she wasn't looking him in the eye as she stared across the dark room. Her gaze fixated on the pile of blankets on the bed as she tried to end this in the most painless and least mortifying way possible. "There's nothing to talk about. We can't do this."

The tin man seemed to have found his footing in this situation a lot faster and easier than she had. Moving slightly she felt his chin brush over the crown of her head as he adjusted her against him. "Why?" He asked with that enraging calm of his.

"I just told you why." She was suddenly fighting back tears. "It won't work."

"It won't if you don't even try."

She didn't know what she was supposed to say to him. She wanted this more than he could possibly imagine but she wanted him to stay more. If that meant she couldn't have him in all the ways she wanted then that was just something she was going to have to live with. "Cain, don't do this to me. I can't do this with you. It would be too much."

His other arm wrapped around her middle and she bit her lip. Confused over what to do with her dangling arms she put her palms on his forearms, torn between pushing them off and covering them up. Unable to make up her mind she froze that way as her mind fought with itself. "What's too much?"

Frustrated, she snapped at him. "Everything! There's no middle ground with you at all! I can't do it!"

There was a pause as her voice faded to nothing. All she could hear was silence as the shadows seemed to wrap tightly around them. After what felt like a lifetime the tin man spoke quietly but firmly over her head. "I won't run from you."

Her confusion over that statement was at odd contrast with the startling clarity of what he was saying. That was exactly what she was afraid of. He hit the nail right on the head. It was like he was reading her mind. She didn't know why she was surprised. He managed to do that all the time even if he wasn't a viewer. Her shoulders hunched up and her fingers flexed over his skin as her stomach sank unpleasantly to her feet. She had avoided talking to him about this for a reason. The last thing she wanted was to make him feel guilty about feeling guilty. He didn't know how to handle what happened to him any other way and it wasn't fair of her to take away his coping mechanism no matter how much it bothered her. She knew he was beyond lucky to be even close to sane after the iron maiden. She'd heard the stories that floated around about the other people that had been released from them. They weren't pleasant to hear about and it killed her that Cain had been forced to live through that. If retreating into himself was what he had to do to stay that stable then that was what he had to do. She wasn't about to ask him to change anything.

Unfortunately, he wasn't giving her much of a choice at the moment. She was honest with him even as she tried to soften what she was saying. "You won't be able to help it. I know you don't mean to. I know it isn't your fault, but you can't ask me to do this. I can't go into this knowing you won't be with me when we're standing right beside each other."

Bending his head he pressed his cheek against hers. "I know you can't." His voice was gruff. "I won't run, Deeg, but I'll have to do somethin'." He was quiet for a long second. "Can you share my hurt with me?" His arms tightened ever so slightly around her. "There's a lot of it and it'll scare you, but it's the only way I can think of goin' about this without vanishin' on you. I want to stay. I want you. I want to be with you." He took a deep breath. "But I'll leave this alone if you can't handle dealin' with my past. I know it's askin' a lot from you. I only want you to be happy. You need to tell me what'll make you that way."

Her breathing was coming out in uneven pants. She knew she was at some sort of turning point. A big one. Cain was at one too. Her mind raced as she absorbed what he was saying. She worded her thoughts very carefully so there wouldn't be any misunderstanding. "I'm happy with you." She took a breath when she realized her voice was quavering. "I don't mind being afraid if I'm not by myself."

He let out a slow breath and she realized he had been holding it. "Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Alright." He kissed the side of her head before turning her slowly around to face him. Reaching up he stroked her hair behind her ear gently. Inexplicably she realized she was trembling. The tin man sent her a small, reassuring smile. "It's okay, Darlin'." She did her best to smile back but for the first time in a long time couldn't think of anything to say to him. She was so nervous her brain had thrown up a white flag. So she nodded in agreement, hoping that would be enough to satisfy him for a few minutes while she gathered herself back together. He searched her eyes for a moment before tucking her head under his chin. Relieved that he wasn't trying to push her farther for the moment she let him hold her for a little while. Maybe he was as flustered and confused as she was. That thought made her feel a little better and she began to relax. He started stroking her hair with a crazy amount of tenderness and she let out a low sigh of approval as her sense of equilibrium rebounded.

"Cain?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm not entirely sure what we're supposed to do now." He let out a huff of amusement and her lip twitched as she kept her head against his chest. "If you could give me some sort of direction I would appreciate it." He was, after all, the one with experience when it came to relationships. Okay, true, she had experience, but it was all pretty rotten experience when you got right down to it. Clearly they should not be following her metaphorical sense of direction in this matter.

He cupped the back of her head. "Are you tired?"

"Yeah."

"Are you done yellin' at me?"

"Depends on whether or not you keep up this line of questioning doesn't it?"

He chuckled and kissed the top of her head. "Let's get some sleep, Deeg. We can talk about this after we've both rested and are thinkin' straight."

That seemed like an excellent plan really. Between the adrenaline crash that was starting to set in and the lack of sleep she was pretty sure it was only a matter of time before she collapsed. She needed to be sure of one thing before she went to sleep though. "Are we really going to talk about this when we wake up?"

"Yes."

She believed him since he had yet to lie to her. "Okay then."

His arms loosened and she slipped away from him without a fuss. She sat on the edge of the bed and he nudged her farther on as he stepped up behind her. Scooting to the right she tried to keep her nightgown from riding up any higher and began to untangle the blanket. The tin man slid onto the mattress next to her and took a corner of the blanket and helped her. Her mind didn't actually process that he was in bed with her until he flipped half of it over her and laid down. Grabbing the pillow he tucked it under his head and closed his eyes. A second later and one of them popped open and gazed at her as she sat there. "Are you goin' to sleep sittin' up?"

She'd done that before but it really wasn't all that comfortable. However, the tin man was in bed with her, which was really throwing her off her usual routine of laying down. "Well, no-"

His hand snaked out and pulled her down next to him in one swift move. She squeaked in surprise as she bounced slightly. "Hey!"

"You make more noise than any other ten princesses put together." He grumbled playfully.

"Then quit tossing me about. I am not a rag doll despite the nickname Glitch gave me." She sniffed with false pretension and rolled so her back was to him. "Brute."

He let out a low chuff and then his arm was sneaking around her waist and sliding her to him. "I'm sorry, Darlin'."

Her lip twitched. "Liar."

"That hurts my feelings."

The twitch turned to a smile. "Such a liar. You're so bad at that."

He chuckled and kissed the back of her head. "I thought you were tired."

"You're the one talking and keeping me awake."

"Your name callin'. I have to defend myself."

"You're such a delicate creature prone to being picked on. I fully understand your preoccupation with shielding yourself from any and all princess related criticism."

"Sassy."

"You're just-" Her train of thought was interrupted when his fingers dug unexpectedly into her ribs. She yelped and thrashed as he began to tickle her. "No! No, no, no!"

He chuckled softly as he tormented her. She was laughing and trying to twist away from him but he kept her pretty still. "I'm just what?"

She was willing to call uncle on this one if it meant he would leave her alone. She couldn't stand being tickled. "You're right!"

"Really?"

"Yes!" She laughed breathlessly. "Completely and utterly right!"

He didn't let up. "What exactly am I right about, Deeg?"

He was asking her questions right now? This was the most evil interrogation technique she'd ever heard of. "Umm?" His fingers raced down her ribs and she squealed in a less than attractive way. "What do you want to be right about?"

"So that's how it is?"

"Yes! Leave me alone!"

"I don't know. You aren't being very nice to me."

She latched onto that statement. "You're right!" She wriggled and yanked at his wrists. "I'm a horrible, bad person! No more!"

He stopped tickling her and she gasped as she laughed breathlessly. Cain smiled at her as she lay in a tangle of limbs against him. She'd ended up facing him in her struggle to escape his tickling fingers of doom. The fingers in question left her side and moved up to her face. Tilting her head up he lowered his and kissed her gently. Her eyes fluttered closed and she rolled more fully toward him. He did anything but discourage her as his hand flattened over the small of her back to keep her where she was.

Deciding that this wasn't the worst place she could have been she snuggled closer to him. He stroked her cheek and sighed into her mouth before pulling away. "No more tonight, Deeg. One of us'll snap at it'll probably be me."

She smirked cheekily. "I don't know. Your self-control is pretty outstanding. I think I have you on lack of impulse control."

Shaking his head he shifted her a bit so he was could curl up around her as platonically as possible. Really, that wasn't saying all that much considering how closely they were pressed against one another. "Not right at this moment you don't."

Her eyes glittered. "Really?"

"No." He flipped her around so her back was to his chest again. "I know that tone. You don't get to play with me right now."

"Does that mean I get to play with you later?" She rubbed against him lightly as her voice dripped with flirtatious suggestion.

He groaned. "That is not what I meant."

"I think it is." He sighed, but for once didn't deny that he had a mind that could be every bit as naughty as hers. Tucking that information away for later use she went still after dragging his arm a bit higher up her torso. She really didn't have the energy to start anything right now anyway. And she definitely wanted to have energy if they were going to be doing anything even remotely resembling fun or interesting. When she was comfortable she let her eyes flutter closed. "Goodnight, Cain."

"Wyatt." He corrected quietly.

"Goodnight, Wyatt."

"Goodnight, DG."

She hummed quietly. "I like Deeg better."

The tin man squeezed her hand in his. "Deeg then."

Content beyond reason with where she found herself she drifted off easily. It was hard not to when she felt really safe for the first time in days. While she knew this was most likely going to get complicated and tense at some point she didn't think about it now. She simply basked in the knowledge that she somehow managed to get what she wanted. It didn't occur to her until the next day that the tin man not only knew what those wants were, but that he had neatly addressed the majority of her fears right along with them.

Author Note: I love posting. It's always such fun to see if you like what I write or not. You have no idea how surprising it is to find out a chapter I think is questionable at best is apparently great fun and ones I think are full of awesome fall a little flat. It's really terribly interesting.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: Not mine!

When she woke up sunshine filled the room and she stretched out lazily. She really felt rested for the first time in over a week. When she began to move she felt a warm weight over her waist and glanced down as a shot of adrenaline crashed over her. When she saw a familiar arm memories from the night before flew through her head and she relaxed. Happiness exploded in her chest and she went still as she luxuriated in the warmth Cain was giving off.

The arm pulled her backward and the tin man murmured over her head. "Go back to sleep, Darlin'."

As much as she wanted to she had things to get done today. She hadn't managed to search out the spell she'd been after yesterday despite her rather frantic search. Tutor had even rolled up his sleeves and dove in to help. They still came up short. All they had to show for their work was a pile of spell books as tall as she was that didn't contain the spell she needed. She had managed to learn one about turning a muffin into a weasel. True, she didn't know when that was going to come in handy, or who would make up a spell like that to begin with, but so help her when the opportunity arose there was going to be a ferret on the breakfast table. "I think I overslept my sleeping in by about three hours already."

"Considering you didn't fall asleep until at least three I tend to doubt that." He shifted so they were pressed more closely together.

She mumbled a sleepy protest at his attempts to keep her in bed despite the urge to stay right there with him for the rest of the day. They could spend a month in bed together when she was sure she wasn't going to be murdered in it should she let her guard down. "Have things to do."

"What things? You told me all your meetings were canceled."

"Have to research a sound in the library."

He huffed out a laugh. "Since when are sounds stored in books?"

"Actually, it's a spell Tutor remembered hearing about once." She didn't really want to think about his let alone talk about it, but the tin man had asked. "The man that attacked me-" His arm tightened as her voice got a bit strangled. "-I kept hearing this sound when he was showing me things. I thought if I could get the sound to repeat outside my head someone might know what it was."

"What sound?" She could tell he was already edging toward angry. This wasn't how she wanted to start the day.

"A banging."

"What sort of banging?"

"Metal or something. If I knew I wouldn't have to go hunt down a spell and could continue to snuggle with you."

"Snuggle?" He repeated the word as if a pack of fluffy and insanely cute kittens had leapt upon him and started purring with joy as they slowly crushed him under their combined miniscule weight.

She laughed softly as she twined her fingers with his. "A cross between cuddling and getting snug."

"Who comes up with these words? Does everyone on the Otherside talk like this or do you make them up as you go along?"

"You actually think I'm capable of making up such an abundance of catch phrases and mashed up words by myself?"

"Without a doubt."

She smiled as she patted his hand. "That's a wonderful thing to hear. I'm glad you think I'm so creative. I didn't think I could keep up the lingo for more than a year or so before running out of unique and tin man baffling expressions."

"After the jumpin' conversation I'm not sure how much more bafflin' it can get."

She yawned before asking. "What jumping conversation? I don't remember that one."

He hugged her a bit more tightly and kissed her shoulder. "Never mind, it's not important."

"Okay." She stretched again before starting to sit up. "I just don't see what's so confusing about jump…" The next several seconds were strange to say the least. For some reason her half formed sentence translated into a tidal wave of bad. It was like a dam breaking. Memories slammed into her from her night of shame and she froze as she replayed the entire, once blissfully forgotten incident. A strangled sound that honestly couldn't be interpreted in a positive way escaped her.

"Kid?" Cain began to pull her back and she batted his hands away in horror as she whirled to her feet beside the bed.

She flapped her arms erratically as she caught her balance from the swift spin. "You said I didn't have anything to be sorry for!" She didn't even know what to do. She fell into a tizzy in less than two seconds that she was sure couldn't be calmed no matter what he said or did. The tin man was sitting up and reaching for her as she wished for a deep hole to fall into. He knew exactly what she had just remembered. She'd never been this embarrassed in her entire life. "I'm never drinking again!"

"Deeg-"

This was all his fault. It was his fault she wanted to curl up in a ball until she disappeared. She was sure about that. "You weren't supposed to be there!" She glared at him accusingly and she saw him trying to either back peddle or rein her in. He clearly had no idea which way he should try to go. "You were supposed to be camping with your son!"

"I know I was, but-"

"I asked you to leave! More than one time!"

He was scrambling as her panic fueled rant continued. "You were upset. I wasn't goin' to leave you by yourself."

She let out another strangled sound. This one was more frustration than anything else. "Yes! I remember being rather distraught that day! I have to tell you I don't feel any better about it now!"

"You don't have a reason to be embarrassed-"

"Are you serious?" She put her hands over her face. "I can't believe I said those things! That wasn't supposed to happen! All I wanted to do was fall asleep and you had to go and interrogate me?"

"Bit of a difference between interrogation and you talkin', Kiddo."

"Cain!" There wasn't much of a difference to her at this point. She didn't care how logical his argument was.

He caught her around the waist while she blinded herself with her own hands and tried to start pacing in her agitation. "We don't have to talk about this. I'm sorry I brought it up that way. I didn't mean to do that."

"Oh really? Are we just going to pretend that conversation never happened then? Because ignoring things so often goes right in my world!"

He tugged her back on the bed and she was in his lap a second later. "You're right." He grabbed her hands and lowered them. "Let's go ahead and get through this."

She couldn't manage to look him in the eye. "Where to start? So many wonderful possibilities." Sarcasm was dripping off her tongue.

A smile tugged at his mouth as his hand grazed up the column of her neck. Distracted by the waves of sensation that caused she momentarily forgot her anxiety. The tin man must have felt her relax because he palmed the back of her neck and pulled her lips to his. She returned the kiss a bit hesitantly and his thumb circled over her skin before he leaned away. "I didn't love you the first time I saw you." He ran his free hand over her cheek. "But I did like you. You were just spunky as all hell. Didn't know how to handle you at all." He wasn't letting her look away from him. "I fell in love with you later."

"Decided to go right for the big thing then?"

"I tell you I love you and you're makin' jokes?"

"You're holding me still. I can't exactly reciprocate that statement properly when you won't let me jump you."

His grip loosened a bit. "I'm not about to let you take advantage of m-" She was kissing him before he could finish. He smiled against her and then he moved fast. The next thing she knew her back was against the mattress and he was balanced over her. The urge to giggle insanely hit her and she fought it down hard. He would think she was crazy for sure if she started to laugh while they were making out for the first time. He leaned up and kissed her nose as his eyes twinkled playfully. "I'm nothin' but a good lookin' general to you am I?"

She studied him critically for a few seconds. "Nah, you're not that good looking."

He growled at her indignantly as he kissed her jaw. "Only my position then?"

"You caught me. Princess is such a looked down upon profession. I need you to elevate my socioeconomic status before I get laughed out of the palace."

That had his head dropping to her shoulder as he started to laugh. "I don't know what to do with you."

She reached up tentatively and brushed her fingers through his hair. "That's all right. I don't know what to do with me either." Cain let his head settle on the bed beside her and she turned her face so they were facing one another. They studied each other for several long seconds. They were both trying to stabilize again and she wondered how many times they were going to go through this before they were comfortable with one another al the time again. Probably quite a few. This was pretty unsettling all around no matter how good this felt. At least he wasn't shying away from her. She did appreciate that he was trying so hard. "Sometimes I forget you can be sneaky. You're usually so blunt it throws me off."

His eyebrow popped up. "How am I sneaky?"

"If you weren't I wouldn't still be in this bed with you. Well played." She was actually fairly impressed with how smoothly he'd pulled this off. But, she was generally impressed with the things the tin man managed to accomplish. Why she thought she would be any different from any other person he ever managed to run in circles or flabbergast was beyond her. She wasn't nearly as clever as she thought she was apparently.

He hummed under his breath as he watched her. "This was a special circumstance. I didn't want to scare you off."

"Because I scare so easy."

His fingers danced over her bare arm. "Sometimes you do." Unease raced through her and he soothed her without much effort. "We all have our weak points, Darlin'. I wasn't about to hit yours too hard." She grimaced slightly at the thought of the emotional turmoil she went through when she got here. Honestly, it had taken her months to deal with the things she'd learned although she thought she'd hidden her problems a bit better than she had. Cain continued. "I have a fair few of my own and you never went at 'em with a hammer. Most of the time you're nice enough to avoid as much as brushin' against 'em."

"I don't like it when you get upset. I have a particular dislike of being the one that upsets you."

"I know." His eyes darkened a bit as he cupped her cheek. "Deeg, you don't upset me. The things that happened to me upset me. It isn't your fault that you occasionally say or do things that make me remember. You can't help that."

She searched his eyes and nodded slowly. "Will you at least tell me why they upset you?"

"Yes." He said without hesitation.

Feeling a bit better about this whole conversation she inched closer to him. Considering they were about that far apart it didn't take her too long. Tilting her head just a smidge she kissed him again. He returned it easily and his hand traced her side as her arms went up to wrap around his shoulders. Within seconds she knew two things. She wasn't sure how long it was going to take her to get back to the library and Cain really knew what he was doing. His hands were gliding over her in a way that had her squirming and wet in under two minutes.

This wasn't like anything she'd done before. True, she wasn't innocent, but her previous encounters had either been full of fumbling and unsure hands or quick hurried encounters in some dark corner before anyone could get caught. It had all been in good fun, or at least adolescent mischief, but this was different. Cain was experienced and interested in more than a quick roll in the hay so to speak. She hoped she could keep up with him. As soon as that thought passed another one took its place. She thought his hand gliding from her knee down her thigh might have been a contributing factor. He _knew_ what he was doing and she had some serious questions about this whole sex thing. She had always been deeply suspicious that there was more to it than her experience had managed to convey. She wondered if he could clear those questions up for her. She was about ninety-nine percent sure he could as lust flushed through her.

When his fingers slid a centimeter under her nightgown her breathing hitched. He let out a quiet groan before squeezing her leg gently as he moved it back toward her knee. "You aren't goin' to make this easy on me are you?"

"Huh?" She was distracted by the sudden halt on their forward progress. It left her less than eloquent in it's wake.

He kissed the side of her mouth. "I was plannin' on romancin' you. You-"

Her giggling cut him off. That may be the funniest thing she'd ever heard come out of his mouth. Why she didn't know, but it was just so… Un-Cain like. "What?"

He rolled his eyes. "Why is that funny?"

"Say that again."

"What are you talkin' about?"

She imitated his accent. "Romancin'." Then she started to laugh again. "Say it."

"No."

She poked him in the ribs. "Come on! Say it again!"

"I've changed my mind. You don't deserve it." He rolled to the side and she followed him. She ended up on top of him and smiled happily down at him.

"Say it!"

"I'm not sayin' it." Despite his grumpy tone she could tell he was teasing. His eyes were dancing playfully up at her. She made her own eyes big and stared down at him as she pushed her bottom lip out into a subtle, but very effective pout. "I'm not."

She lowered her head so she was hovering over him. "Please?"

"No."

"Pretty please? For me?"

He grumbled before giving in. "Romancin'." She started laughing like crazy. Hunched over him she shook silently as she tried to regain control. "Are you happy now?" She nodded wordlessly since she couldn't talk. He growled and wrapped his arms around her as he rolled her back to his side. He kissed her between giggles and she finally managed to stop.

"That was wonderful."

"Should I ask why?"

"It just was."

He huffed out a laugh and sat up, pulling her with him. "I see." She kissed him again and he returned it before sliding her to her feet beside the bed. "Now, before you make this any worse for me or decide to laugh me out of all my dignity we should get up."

"Aww." She sent him a falsely contrite look. "I didn't mean to dent your manly pride."

"No, of course not." He stood up after her. "You want me to elevate you up the social ladder too much to intentionally insult me."

Smiling like crazy she went up on her toes and kissed his cheek. "On that note I'll go. I don't want you to loose interest with me before I manage to trick you into a marriage or something."

"Mhmm." He kissed her swiftly. "Don't stay in the library all day. Jeb and half his spies are workin' on this too. You don't need to burry yourself under books."

"Yeah, all right. I'll limit myself to eight or nine hours."

"I'm coming to drag you outa there if you aren't done by then."

"Will you at least drag me to some sort of sustenance?"

"I'll see what I can do." He tucked her hair behind her ear. "Have a good day, Darlin'. I'll see you a little while."

"You too." With that and one last smile she teleported herself back to the room she was currently inhabiting.

She had barely caught her balance when a voice spoke up to her left. "Where have you been?"

She squeaked as she whirled around. Az was sitting on one of the small couches flipping through a book. "Ummm."

"You're lucky that double you made told me you were still in the palace or I would have had the entire royal guard out after you."

"I can't tell you how glad I am you didn't do that."

Az set her book down before propping her cheek on her hand as she leaned into the side of the sofa. "I'm impressed with the illusion. It took me five minutes before I worked out she wasn't you."

She brightened. "That long?"

"I was rather startled to be perfectly frank with you."

She sat on a chair close to her sister. "Sorry, Az. I didn't mean to freak you out."

"I'll forgive you if you tell me where you were all night."

"You're blackmailing me?"

Az smirked. "Don't be silly. If I were blackmailing you I would threaten to tell Cain you were missing for the better part of ten hours. He'd skin you alive and then it would get nasty."

She thought it was rather funny that Az threatened to tell the tin man instead of their parents. On second thought he would be a whole lot worse to deal with. "Cain knew where I was."

Her sister's dark eyes sparkled with curiosity. "And where was that?"

"With him."

There was a slight pause. "You were with Cain?"

"Yeah."

"All night?"

"Staying with a general seems to be a pretty safe place to be when crazy people are after you."

Az stared at her hard. She didn't like that. Az always knew when she was lying. Her sister had an unfair advantage being able to remember all the times they'd lied about stuff together when they were little. "Deeg?"

She tried to appear as innocent as possible. "Yes, Az?"

"What's going on?"

She waved her hand toward the dresser in her room. "I was about to get dressed."

"If you don't tell me I swear I will make all your hair fall out."

She clutched at her hair protectively. "_What?_ What's the matter with you?"

Her sister raised her hand lazily and sparked with magic. "Sorry? What was that?"

She stood up hastily and backed toward the bedroom. "I… I uh."

"You?" Az asked.

"Please don't make my hair fall out."

"Tell me." She demanded as she rose gracefully to her feet.

"Fine, but only if you promise not to freak out." She paused before adding another demand. "Or make my hair vanish. I can't pull off bald. Short hair sure, but not bald."

"Deeg!"

"He told me he loved me."

Az stopped in her tracks. "Cain said that?"

She continued to back away. "And, you know… there was some mutual affection that got shared."

Her sister was stuck on the first part. "Wyatt Cain told you he was in love with you?"

"Yes."

"The Wyatt Cain? The one you pulled out of an iron maiden?"

"Yup, that one."

Her sister shook her head as if she was trying to get a fly out from between her ears or something. "I can see we need to start at the begging." She pointed to her room. "Get dressed and you can tell me while I put your hair up."

"It's really not that great a story." She didn't really want to tell Az she'd been so trashed she told Cain she was in love with him first. That was really not classy at all.

"I'm sure it is." She crossed her arms over her chest. "You're telling me."

She sighed. "Okay." She dragged out slowly. Then she retreated to her room and shut the door so she could change. She heard Az muttering about insanity running in the family right before the latch clicked closed.

Author Note: Sorry this is a couple days late. I got turned down by the agent that had my manuscript for six months and it took me a day or two to bounce back to perky. Having said that I am now in need of a literary agent. Anyone know one who might be interested in an excellent chick-lit sci-fi novel? Anyone out there reading my stuff an agent? Honestly, it's pretty awesome, not to toot my own horn or anything, but really it is. I would love for someone to read it. Just… you know… drop me a line… It'll be great fun for all involved! I have a query letter ready and everything!


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: Nope, not mine, but I bet it isn't yours either, so ha!

After Deeg left he took a shower and dressed before searching out his son. Over the last few days they had been having breakfast together, with the exception of the day before. They had both been too busy to stop and eat. It was a change he was happy to have even if the occasional tense subject came up. He figured it helped that both of them were doing their best to avoid a fight, and those strained moments tended to pass quickly as one of them changed the subject to something less painful or controversial. At the moment he was waiting patiently for Jeb to bring Olivia up to the palace. Their initial meeting was both interesting and, at least for him, rather awkward and stressful. As he headed toward Jeb's room he flashed back to that afternoon.

They didn't talk much as they walked through the city that day, but for the first time it wasn't an uncomfortable silence. Jeb seemed relaxed and happy to be going wherever he was leading them. Once they were out of the palace gates the streets were teaming with life. People flowed about them, either heading in different directions or socializing in front of vending carts or storefronts. The atmosphere in Central City had changed dramatically since he'd snuck in here with the kid two years ago. The whole place was brighter and cleaner. The queen and consort had opened restoration programs to get people working again and it had done wonders for the atmosphere and the economy. People that had fled the city years ago had come back and a number of the resistance fighters had become tin men or community leaders. They'd cleared out the lingering longcoats along with a number of the dealers and gangs that had infested the place. It was a safer place to be.

It was an especially safe place to be when a certain princess was hounding him for information. He had retreated into the city on more than one occasion when he was in one of his moods. It was easier that way sometimes and today was no exception. Deeg must have sensed something in the air that afternoon when he found her in his room because she had been all over him about what he was talking to Jeb about. He had pretended not notice or understand her subtle questions about what was going on and eventually she had dropped the subject. He didn't want to talk about the emotional whirlwind he'd been on with his son. No matter how well the conversation had gone he felt drained and vulnerable. Feeling that way with one person was hard. Letting her know he was affected was too much for one day.

At one point he saw her eyes dim a bit and wondered if he was retreating again. The minute he sensed the shift between them he had forcefully thrown himself back into the present with her. That was when he realized what he had been doing to her for so long without realizing it. It was so hard to break past the haze of emotion that he wasn't surprised she labeled his behavior as 'running away'.

No wonder he was upsetting her. He was sure his disinterested or hallow responses must have put her on edge. She worried about him more than she worried about herself, which he didn't understand for the life of him. He was also aware, as much as he didn't want to talk about things, that if he didn't start opening up a little he was going to end up driving her away.

He didn't want that. The last thing the kid needed was to be driven away by someone else. Her parents and her nurture units did that enough. She was so bothered by the relationship she had with the queen and consort that she'd made herself a double to avoid talking to them. He had scolded her about that for a good fifteen minutes in order to drive the other thoughts he was having about her away. The only thing that accomplished was to get that cheeky, self-satisfied smile stuck to her face. She was so proud of her creation he couldn't keep up his lecture about her recklessness any longer than that. He thought the kid probably deserved an escape even if he didn't approve of her methods. She certainly let him have his own bolthole. It wasn't fair to deny Deeg hers.

Next to him Jeb turned down a narrow lane and when they emerged they were in a secluded square. There were apartments lining the open area and a small bakery with a few tables scattered about in the sunshine or under the one tree growing up between the cobblestones toward the bright spring sunlight pouring in between the buildings. It was a pretty little spot and he could tell his son was familiar with it. A man with gray hair and deep brown eyes waved to his boy from the bakery window and Jeb nodded to him. The old man gave him a once over before walking behind the counter and vanishing into the depths of the bakery. Then a call cut through the air followed by the laughter of a child.

"Jeb!"

His son grinned as little boy ran down the outside stairs of one of the apartment buildings. The boy couldn't have been more than four or five and his dark hair flopped around his dark brown eyes. He was grinning widely with his eyes fixed on Jeb. He was sure happy to see him, that was for sure. He hurtled toward them and Jeb grabbed him and tossed him over his shoulder. "Hey, buddy. How are you?"

The boy laughed again as he was swung through the air. "Hungry! Olivia said we had to wait for you to eat!"

"She's awfully strict, isn't she?" Jeb's lip was twitching at the boy.

"Maybe if you tell her that she'll listen. When I tell her she sends me to bed." Jeb barked out a laugh and set him down.

"I think I'd get worse than that from Olivia if I started telling her she wasn't handling you properly."

The boy sighed and he was fighting back both laughter and avid curiosity over the dynamics at work. He was assuming this boy was the girl's brother, but maybe he wasn't. With the way the resistance operated he knew a number of children were taken in by people that weren't their actual family. There were far too many orphans running about anymore and a lot of fighters in the cells, who had grown up orphans themselves, were rather unwilling to let the children in their camps get lost on the streets. The ones in the resistance camps had been much more likely to find themselves with a guardian than some of the others.

The little boy was practically hanging off Jeb's arm. His son wasn't at all bothered and started swinging him about as he was interrogated. "You're back early. You said you wouldn't be back until next week. Did something happen? What's Finaqua like? Is there really a big lake? Does the maze move like Tom said? Did you drive there? Whose that?"

Jeb smiled down at him as he asked his series of rapid-fire questions. He answered the last one first. "This is my father."

The little boy looked at him with open curiosity. "He's real tall."

He crouched down and held his hand out with a half smile on his face. "Hello. My name's Wyatt Cain. What's yours?"

"Sam Fisher." He took his hand with his much smaller one. "Are you the one that stopped the witch?"

"I helped a bit."

"Jeb said you were real brave and went in the tower to stop her. He said you saved the princess and made sure the suns kept moving. I saw the eclipse while we waited at the camp. It looked real scary. You must be brave like Jeb said."

He raised an eyebrow and Jeb turned his attention away. "Is that what he said?"

"Uh huh. Jeb said that and Jeb never lies."

Warm pride began to take hold of him. A lot of people had told him he was a hero and he had been either bothered or exasperated. He'd done what he should have done. The witch was a menace and had to be stopped. He happened to be at the right place to help do that. He'd rarely thought beyond the odd series of circumstances that brought him to that place to begin with. But something about knowing his son was proud enough to tell someone he was brave caught in his chest and stuck. Before he could think of anything to say he heard a woman call out.

"Samuel, are you bothering that poor man?"

The boy's head whipped around and he let go of Jeb so he could hide behind him. "Umm? No?"

He rumbled out a laugh and stood up straight. He looked about and found the soft voice was coming from a very pretty young woman who was coming out of the same set of stairs Sam had. One look at her and he knew the two weren't related, or if they were they weren't full siblings. Where Sam was dark and had sharp features, this teenager was fair and soft. Her hair was red gold and her eyes were light brown. Her skin was tinged pink and her face was heart shaped. He was struck, rather forcefully, that this girl looked very much like Adora had when he first met her at a farmers market so many years, ago save for the hue of her hair.

As she came down the stairs he estimated her to be about seventeen or eighteen, a year or two younger than Jeb. She was dressed in a simple green dress with her hair up in a knot at the back of her head. She moved gracefully, but he thought she was nervous. Her hands fluttered a bit and she sent him a shy smile. Not knowing exactly what Jeb had told her about him, or what this visit was about he tried to set her at ease. Reaching up he tipped his hat politely. "Good afternoon."

Jeb cut in quickly. "Dad, this is Olivia Stills. Olivia, this is my father, Wyatt Cain."

"It's very nice to meet you, Mr. Cain."

"It's nice to meet you too."

He saw Sam pull on Jeb's arm and his son shook his head. "We should feed him or he's going to gnaw off my arm."

Olivia held her hand out to him and the boy grabbed it with a smile. The young woman asked him a question. "Did you want to eat at the bakery or go somewhere else?"

He looked at Jeb for some sign of what was happening. His son nodded toward the tables. "I don't think we'll make it far before he dies of starvation."

Olivia rolled her eyes and herded the boy toward the table. Sam was happy to comply and raced to the one under the tree. Jeb moved to the door of the shop and vanished. He assumed he'd be back with food of some sort. The young woman was already sitting before he could pull her chair out for her and he eased down across the table from her. "I'm glad to finally meet you, Mr. Cain."

"You can call me Wyatt." She smiled a bit more genuinely at him and he smiled back. "Jeb tells me your apprenticin' to be a midwife?"

"I am." Jeb walked out with several glasses balanced between his hands. "I have about an annual left. Maybe less. It depends on how well my teacher thinks I'm progressing."

His son set down the drinks and Sam perked up as he took the juice. "You'll be done in six months."

She blushed slightly at Jeb's assertion. "Your son is very giving."

"No, you're highly competent." He sat down and set one of the glasses in front of her. "Olivia was the field medic in our cell for awhile. She was very good."

Her blush deepened and he saw her fighting it off. "Why did you decide to become a midwife?" He asked with interest.

"I thought it would be nice to bring people into the world instead of helping them ease out of it."

He nodded in understanding and respect by the calm and serious response. He could only imagine the number of people she had seen die no matter how hard she must have tried to prevent their passing. It must have been a hard thing to deal with. Knowing someone was hurt and not being able to help them because you didn't have the right training or medical facilities had to be frustrating. "Do you like it so far?"

"I do. It's not entirely what I was expecting but nothing ever is."

"That's true enough." He caught movement out of the corner of his eyes and turned his head. Jeb got up at the sight of the older man waving to him and vanished again. Before his son made it two feet Sam jumped out of his chair and raced after him. He smiled. "He seems like a happy boy."

"I hope so. I'm sorry if he was pestering you. I don't think he ever runs out of questions. He must dream them up in his sleep because he has new ones every day."

He chuckled. "I always liked the little ones. Nothin' is quite as funny as watchin' them learn somethin' new."

"You two should get along then."

His smile stayed in place as Jeb came out with three plates and Sam carefully carried one out with him. Jeb watched him walking ahead of him with a look of slight concern. He could see his son was trying to work out how to catch the plate Sam was carrying if he dropped it. With three plates full of food in his own hands he wasn't sure Jeb had a whole lot of options. His son seemed to have come to the same conclusion and must be hoping Sam kept his balance. Thankfully the boy made it back to the table without a problem and got back in his chair. Jeb distributed the other plates and immediately took control of the conversation. He had been grateful for that. His son was trying his best to keep the whole meeting easy and relaxed and the hour they spent together was pleasant.

After they finished Olivia wished him a warm farewell and he and Jeb departed. As they walked back to the palace he waited until they were on the main thoroughfare before he spoke. He slid into the whole idea of the meeting as calmly as possible. "She seems like a very nice girl."

Jeb shot him a look. "She is."

He nodded. "And the boy?" They had never got around to covering that subject and he admitted to a bit of curiosity over the unexpected, and unmentioned child.

"Her nephew. His mother, her sister, died when she had him and his father died a week or so before you showed up. She's been taking care of him since." He shook his head. "I swear he looks just like his dad."

"You've been helpin'." It wasn't a question.

Jeb shrugged. "I've been helping most of my cell. At least the ones that decided to settle in the city. The networks didn't die because the war ended."

"This is more than a responsibility to your cell, son."

Jeb was quiet for a second before he cleared his throat. "I'm waiting for her to finish her apprenticeship."

"Waitin' to do what?"

"Ask her to marry me."

Jeb had successfully sidelined him. While he may have known this was more than a strictly social visit he hadn't been expecting that response at all. He organized his thoughts quickly. "You love her?"

"I do."

"And Sam? He'll be your son as much as she'll be your wife." There was no point in denying that. He felt as a father he should point out the added responsibility. Adjusting to a new marriage was hard in itself, in some ways more than others. Adding a child into it would only make that transition more of a challenge.

It seemed his son had already put considerable thought into the subject. "I know. I love him too. His father was a good man. He saved my life more than once. We were friends. If Olivia hadn't been there I would have taken Sam in myself."

He nodded in understanding and was quiet for a few moments before he spoke again. "Do you like her, Jeb?"

His son had glanced at him with confusion evident in his eyes. "I told you I love her."

"I know. I believe you, but do you like her?" He struggled for a brief moment before diving into this. "What you're feelin' now is a powerful thing. I'm not denyin' it and I'm not tellin' you it isn't important or life alterin' because it is, but eventually those feelin's will change and cool down. Friendship in a marriage is more important than anything else. If you don't have that it won't work."

Jeb was thrown off balance as much as he had been over the last few hours. "I thought you were in love with mom."

His lip twitched like crazy. "I was. Loved her to pieces. That didn't mean we never had an argument or needed somethin' to talk about outside the bedroom." His son spluttered at that but he wanted to be clear about this. "The friendship came slower with us. Lookin' back I wish my father had told me how important that was. We had a rough ride there for awhile before you came along."

"You and mom? I never remember you fighting. I mean, you had some arguments but not fights."

"Like I said, it was before you came. She nearly knocked my head off with a fryin' pan one day." A full out smile overcame him. "I would have deserved a concussion. Afterwards I really thought I should have let her hit me instead of dodgin'."

"Mom almost killed you with a pan?" He asked with a hefty amount of disbelief.

"She did." He chuckled a bit. "She did have a temper." Shaking his head he continued. "We figured it out eventually, but I thought it might be better for you to know goin' in."

"I do like her. I've known Olivia since I was fourteen. We have a lot in common and she's funny when she isn't nervous." His son fought off amusement. "She was on her best behavior with you there."

"I figured. She seems like a good person. Thank you for bringing me here to meet her."

"Thank you for coming."

His thoughts shifted back to the present quickly as he approached Jeb's room. He hadn't been lying when he told his son friendship was important. It was, and he knew he had that with Deeg. He had it with her long before he loved her. That made him less nervous about their relationship all at once. The kid would never betray his trust or judge him for the thoughts he had. She was with him on a lot of levels. He was with her too. His mind began to turn their connection over. Aside from last night and this morning all they ever explored was their friendship.

It was time for them to try something different and he knew the kid wasn't used to any type of romantic involvement. Between the things they talked about in the past and her severe anxiety over all types of relationship other than friendship, he knew she was never in a serious relationship before. The kid was a bit of a free spirit and it didn't surprise him. He was sure she would be an ideal partner with the right man. She was loyal, funny, willing to compromise when the situation called for it, and had an amazing capacity to love given the chance. All he needed to do was be the right man for her. Since she already loved him he thought he had a leg up in the whole situation. It would be nice to show her what it was like to be wooed though. They only got to have one start together. He wanted it to be a good one. He started to plan their evening as he knocked on his son's door.

Author Note: Look! I'm early this week! Kudos to me! After re-reading what I had I really felt some background on Jeb was necessary to all involved. He and his father are so tied up together it was hard for me to move on with the story until this was addressed. But no worries! Explanations and crazy are right around the corner. Also, Barachan I've been trying to get back to you but I'm afraid my messages somehow got lost in the interweb. If you could e-mail me I would appreciate it! Thanks a bunch!


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: Tin Man isn't mine.

It was well past dark when one of his aides tapped on the door to his office. He finished writing his name at the bottom of a report quickly. It wasn't much more than a scrawled series of illegible loops and lines anymore. Between all the paperwork he'd done as a young man at the station and the number of things he signed now he never wanted to sign his name again. It wasn't really an option anymore though. He figured if hand cramps were the worst thing that happened to him at this point he should thank his lucky star for it. Stretching his fingers after he set the pen down he glanced up. "Yes?"

The young man jumped straight to the point. That was a good thing. He'd run through at least fifteen soldiers before he settled on two that he could handle having around all the time. The ones he'd kicked away had either been inefficient when it came to office work, fawned over him as if he were some sort of deity to be worship, or were flat out dimwitted. He needed efficient people to help him, not ones that got underfoot. It helped that the two worked in tandem as well as they did. The sheer amount of information that went in and out of his office was staggering. He couldn't afford to have any hold ups and he couldn't have anything going to the wrong places. This wasn't a business that could afford to loose or misplace anything. People's lives were literally decided with the things he ordered and the decisions he made. He didn't take that responsibility lightly.

"Princess Dorothy is having a meeting in the library in half an hour."

"Who else is goin' to be there?" He made sure his aides were good at listening as well as being efficient.

He began to list off people quickly. "Her Majesty, the Consort, Raw, Glitch, Princess Azkadilla, Tutor, General Cain, and yourself."

"Alright." He closed the folder and set it on top the stack that was slowly growing. "Have all those sent out and then go home. I'm not the only one that was supposed to be on vacation and isn't."

"Yes, sir." The man took the pile of papers quickly and vanished. He was sure he was trying to escape the chance of getting called back before he escaped. He knew well enough the soldier had a wife and young baby at home. He was sure he was eager to get back to them. If their positions were reversed that would certainly be what he wanted. Finishing up, he made sure his desk was cleared and everything was in order before he headed to the meeting. He glanced at the clock on the way out and realized he should have dragged the kid out of the library about two hours ago. He got caught up and his little surprise wasn't going to be ready for at least another hour. Hopefully the meeting wouldn't last longer than that. He would hate for the food to go cold on them.

He'd had the head chef, with a serious demand for discretion, make him a dinner for two and have it delivered to his room. The portly man had given him a knowing look but made no comment over the request. He had a feeling he wasn't the only one that had ever made such a request over the years the man had worked here. The food would be in his room soon and he'd managed to find some candles to set the table with as well.

He hadn't been lying when he said he wanted to romance Deeg no matter how funny she'd thought that had been. She might have laughed when he said it, but he was confident she wouldn't when he actually put his romancing into practice. He didn't care how untraditional she was, how much she liked pants, or if she knew more curse words than half the soldiers, tin men, or sailors he met, or was fully self-sufficient. She was still a woman. She had a deep seated, if hidden, love of attention in her. Sure, she usually turned the attention she wanted away, or directed all the energy she could give to herself to someone else, but he knew she wanted to be pampered a bit. Not that she would ask for it, but she did. Everyone liked to be taken care of. She took care of him more than he rightly deserved. It was really her turn. Their relationship had been lopsided in his direction for quite awhile now.

The kid spent more of her free time entertaining him, keeping him away from his thoughts, or trying to help him mend his relationship with his son than he had. He hadn't put much thought into his own emotional wellbeing, pushing it away with thoughts of work or his past. He hadn't even realized how much she was taking on when it came to his family situation until they were at Finaqua. Then he'd been out with Jeb camping and he worked it out pretty fast. Considering he hadn't spent more than fifteen hours separated from the kid in the last two years he had no reason to think about it. But two days into the strained and awkward silence between him and his son and he knew Deeg had been running some sort of subtle negotiation between the two of them for a long time. She kept the tentative peace he and Jeb lived under since they were reunited. When she was out of the sphere of influence it all went to hell.

The girl had a way about her he didn't fully understand. She could get warring factions of Ozians to reach peaceful agreements in a few days. Considering a few of the guilds had been fighting since before his grandfather had been born he was rightfully impressed. He knew her parents were too even if they didn't remark on it. That had been his doing.

It wasn't that he didn't want Deeg to know that she was doing astonishingly amazing things. It was that he knew, the second she knew, she would over think the whole thing. He didn't want her to choke up or get so muddled in her own thoughts that she lost sight of how she managed to negotiate. For her it was innate. He was sure it was part of the same ability she had when it came to making friends. It was just something she did. The first time he saw Ahamo approaching her to praise her he'd practically tackled the man and dragged him off under a flimsy excuse. After a quick conversation over the kid's abilities the consort had agreed to keep his peace and left her alone.

He found his girl in the library surrounded by a wall of books and figured he was one of the first to arrive. Only Tutor was here as he talked to her from the other side of her fortress of dusty tomes. They were stacked as high as her hip all the way around her but she didn't seem concerned that she was trapped. She had one small book about the size of her hand open on top the stack as she said something to Tutor. Her teacher nodded and pointed to something on the page of the open book. Straightening up she shook her arms out and stepped to the center of her small fortress. She looked like she was loosening up for a fight instead of getting ready to cast a spell.

"It doesn't seem too complicated. You've done more complex spells than this." Tutor said calmly. The kid seemed to agree with his assessment.

He walked closer and Deeg caught sight of him out of the corner of her eye. She smiled in greeting even as a slight blush rushed over her cheeks. The kid fought it down valiantly but he couldn't stop his lip from twitching once at the sight. Sometimes she still caught him off guard. He never would have thought she'd go anywhere near shy on him. Ignoring her reaction to him she forged on. "I think we found the spell."

He took in the books again. "Always the last place you look."

Her eyes glinted with humor. "I always thought that was a weird way to look at things. Doesn't it have to be the last place you look? You stop when you find it."

"Fair point, Kid." He waved at the book. "But knowin' you that might not be true."

She rolled her eyes good-naturedly. Before she could come up with a reply her parents and Glitch walked in. They weren't even halfway to them when Raw and Azkadilla appeared in the doorway. Her sister moved to her and began to read over the spell as Raw moved next to him. The queen and consort were mid-conversation with the former headcase and continued on without pause. He caught something about antibiotics and a city nestled up in the mountains before he noticed the viewer's attention focused on him. Since they were far enough away from the distracted group not to be noticed, he took the bait Raw laid for him. "Can I help you with somethin', Furball?"

"Cain feel different today."

How surprising. He wasn't about to deny that spending the night wrapped up with a very warm and welcoming princess had an adverse effect on how he felt. He tried to throw the viewer off. "Don't know what you're talkin' about."

Raw looked at him in a way that told him the gentle man wasn't buying that at all. At least he let the subject go without a fight. Not that Raw ever put up much of a fight with him. He was too passive for him to bother unless something really mattered. He supposed this didn't register on the viewer's scale of importance high enough to push the issue. He figured the man knew he would work this out on his own sooner rather than later. Being a viewer came with an awareness of social interactions that humans didn't get. Thinking on that he wasn't sure if that were necessarily a good thing or not.

Jeb walked in a second later and the talk died down. He nodded to the royal couple and he noticed Jeb looked tired. He'd need to be sure he got some sleep tonight. "I'm sorry I'm late. I was in a meeting."

Ahamo sent him a friendly smile. "I think we can let that go. DG, if you're ready?"

"You bet. Tell me if any of you recognize the sound. If you don't then I'll try to think of something else." With that she wiggled all her fingers as Tutor picked the book up and read the incantation yet again.

He instructed her calmly as she prepared herself. The mutt was wary of letting her try this when he wasn't familiar with the spell. At least he was worried about her welfare during their lessons. "Be sure to focus on the sound instead of the rest of the memory. You might accidentally call up things you don't want to."

"I'll be sure to avoid that." She muttered. Then she started to glow softly and he bit the inside of his cheek in an effort to ignore the magic. Light raced over her body and her eyes fluttered closed as she increased her concentration. Her lips began to move silently and then her light flared out brightly before contracting tight against her body. Everyone was focused on her as they waited impatiently to see if this would work. About thirty seconds later and a bang echoed around the room.

Deeg cracked her eye open and looked at Tutor as the sound went off again. He saw her fingers swirling in a circle and wondered if she'd put it on some sort of loop that way. He was only vaguely aware of that though because his mind was suddenly somewhere far away from the library. He was so distant that he wasn't even aware of her magic anymore.

"Anything?" Deeg asked.

"No." Ahamo replied as he listened intently. "It sounds like a door doesn't it?"

"A door?" Azkadilla asked. "Are you sure? It sounds more like someone hitting a sheet of metal with a hammer to me."

"Stop." He said.

Deeg turned her head to look at him. "But I just worked it out-"

"Deeg, stop the spell." He practically snarled at her and her light went out abruptly. Shock over his rage was plainly visible and she searched his face.

"What's the matter?"

He pressed his lips together hard and stood there silently for a long moment as he reined himself in. Finally, he looked over at Jeb. His son ran his hand through his hair in agitation. "The crazy rambling doesn't sound so crazy anymore does it?"

Everyone else in the room was thoroughly confused. The queen asked what they were all thinking. "You know what it is?"

His lips were pressed tightly together as he answered. "An iron maiden closing."

Alarm raced over Deeg's face as the rest of the room shifted. "Are you sure, Cain?" Ahamo asked.

"I heard that sound for ten years. I'm sure."

The kid broke in with the lightest hesitation. "He did have magic. Maybe he figured out how to get break it open from the inside."

Azkadilla shook her head. "Only the most powerful mage could do something like that. Even you would have a hard time, and from what you said he didn't have much."

"He had enough to knock me down and keep me there." Deeg pointed out.

Her sister made a motion with her hands. "Yes, but he caught you by surprise. You can't catch a suit by surprise. It only has one purpose. They're made to keep people in."

Ahamo spoke. "You did say someone let him out."

"True." Deeg responded. For his part he knew it would be better to stay quiet. He'd gone from stable and happy to the edge in less than ten seconds. He could hear screaming in his head as he tried to stay with the conversation.

Jeb crossed his arms. "He came out of a suit. Fine. It either made him crazy or more crazy. This still doesn't help us. We don't know who let him out, where he came from, or why he was willing to break into the most well protected building in the country. We don't even know how he broke in to begin with."

Deeg was clearly disheartened over the lack of help she had been and guilty over making him relive his nightmare. She shut the book and tossed it on top the rest with a frown on her face. Her sister was having a totally different reaction. Her forehead was creased in concentration as she thought. She opened her mouth before thinking better of it. Raw prompted her after a few moments. "Azkadilla thinking hard."

The older princess spoke tentatively. "I think… I think I was wrong."

"What do you mean, Dearheart?" The queen asked.

"I think Deeg caught a suit by surprise."

"Huh?" His girl was baffled but her mother and Tutor shared a glance.

The mutt launched into technical jargon. "You're assuming the theory of joint relativity is at work. The suits weren't made to conduct through one another. It would defeat the entire purpose of their containment incantation."

The queen glanced at the kid. "Perhaps."

"Perhaps what?" Deeg asked. "What are you guys talking about? What's the theory of joint relativity?"

Tutor went into lecture mode. "According to the theory all magical items are inherently linked in a very fundamental, if tenuous manner. The more alike the objects are the easier it is for them to share magical properties." He shrugged. "But the iron maidens weren't built with that in mind. They were specifically designed to be self-sufficient cells, independent of outside help or influence."

He saw where this was going. "But Deeg influenced mine."

"Influenced? I hit a couple if pins with a hammer."

"Is that what you think you did?" Tutor asked.

"Uhh, yeah. Glitch watched me do it."

"Only someone with magic can open a suit. The sealing spell has to be broken." Tutor said with conviction.

The kid's forehead crinkled. "The first time I cast any sort of spell was when we got out of the tower. I made my old doll spin around."

The queen stared at her. "The first time you cast a spell you were five years old in Finaqua."

He rubbed his forehead as a headache began to take shape. "What does that mean?"

"It means she opened the suit you were in with a spell."

"I understand that part!" He snapped. "You're hintin' at somethin' else!"

Azkadilla was the one to answer him. "She could have caused a cascade effect." When he raised an eyebrow impatiently the princess continued. "When she let you out she didn't have any control. She could have cast a spell, and a powerful one at that, if she got emotionally over involved."

The kid getting emotionally over involved? That never happened. Certainly not when she was faced with someone hurt or in danger. He wanted to punch something. "You're sayin' the spell she cast to open the suit I was in traveled from one to another until they all opened? How long would that take?"

Azkadilla corrected him. "They wouldn't open on their own, but she did break the sealing spell."

"Meaning anyone could open them." Deeg stated.

"Yes." Her sister responded. "If her magic did do that it wouldn't take long to siphon through all of the suits. No more than three or four weeks at the most."

The kid rested her elbows on the pile of books in front of her. "Is that really a bad thing? There were resistance fighters in them. It means they aren't trapped anymore. We've been trying to find them all since I got here."

"They weren't all resistance fighters, My Angel." The queen looked tired.

"What?" She stared at her mother hard.

"Many had violent criminals in them."

Deeg frowned. "Why?"

Azkadilla gazed at the floor. "The witch put them there. She had the longcoats pull them out of the prisons. She was smart. Even if a mage did happen to stumble over someone in a suit there was no way to know if they were a captured resistance fighter or a violent and unstable killer. Not many would take the chance."

"You're telling me there are a number of severely violent criminals loose in the O.Z.?"

"If your magic-"

Deeg lost patience with this. "I think we can assume my magic destroyed the network! We need to alert every law enforcement agency in the country! Not to mention the governments of the surrounding areas! They could have leaked over the borders! God only knows what these people are going to do!"

Glitch nodded. "I'll send out messengers." He turned to the older princess. "Azkadilla, we need to see if there are any records on who was put in the suits and where they might have been put."

"We need to go to the tower then. If there are any records of it that's where they'll be."

"Let's leave now."

She nodded and they both left the library quickly. "We have another problem." Jeb said.

He nodded. "Who's the one lettin' 'em out?"

"That's the problem." His son rolled his neck. "The possibilities are nearly endless. They wouldn't even need to know much about magic would they? If they got one iron maiden open that would be all they needed to know. They could get the other ones without a problem."

"They would need to know where the suites were." Ahamo pointed out.

Jeb grunted in agreement. "Okay, let me send this information out. My spies will know what to look out for. After that we'll need to wait for any reports Glitch and the princess find." He nodded to the kid. "Good work, DG. That was extremely helpful." Then he turned on his heel and breezed out of the room.

The kid was stunned by the praise and her parents began to talk to Tutor about what was going on. He made a motion with his hand and Deeg glanced about as she tried to work out how to escape the circle of books. Making up her mind she used her magic to levitate a portion of them several inches off the ground. She set them down carefully about a foot away, waved to her parents and Raw, and walked out of the library beside him. She kept her peace as they walked toward his rooms but he caught her darting glances at him out of the corner of his eye.

He wanted to scream. He wanted to punch something. He wanted to retreat for a few hours while he banished the memories that were assaulting him. He caught her staring again and knew he was going to have to keep his word about talking to her sooner than he had imagined when he made her that promise last night. When they got to his door he braced himself for this and opened the door for her. She walked in ahead of him and he followed her, shutting the door firmly behind him.

Author Note: I need a pick me up guys. I had a really bad week. Be nice and leave me a review. Huggles to all of you!


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: Tin man isn't mine.

The door closed behind them and she stood still as he flicked the lights on. She had been turning over where to even begin talking about this. In the five minutes it had taken them to walk from the library to his room she had come to a couple of unfortunate conclusions. The first was that, in a very round about way, this was her fault. Not that she could have done anything other than what she did. There was no way she could have left him in a suit when she saw him.

It didn't matter that he was a stranger. It didn't matter that she hadn't even been sure he was a human. Because after getting captured and threatened by lawn gnomes she was pretty confident that he might have been something much weirder than a rust covered and hairy human. She would let him out all over again even knowing what would happen. And second, why had no one told her that many of those very suits had sociopaths inside them? She thought, somehow, that she should have been given that information at some point. She and Ahamo were going to be having a conversation about that in the morning.

She was literally in charge of over half the restoration projects that were being run in the O.Z., including the aid for the resistance soldiers and funding for the schools, healing halls, and prisons. The amount of information she had to sort through was staggering. The people she had to deal with gave her migraines on a regular basis. And the amount of free time she had due to all her obligations was minimal. She was actively looking for people to put into place to take over some of the programs but was running into problems with that left and right. It was more complicated than she wanted to think about when she needed to be focused on Cain.

Five steps from the door she decided the only real way to go about this was just to flat out ask. Cain handled subtlety the way a cat handled a tub full of ice water. Not all that well. Steeling herself for what was about to happen she let him hold the door for her. She opened her mouth to speak when the lights came on.

"Wyatt-" She stopped speaking when she saw something completely out of her experience behind the couch. Unable to ignore the anomaly, she turned toward it fully. The small table that was usually on the opposite side of the room was sitting in front of the window. The curtains were open to the view and the lights from the surrounding buildings were beautiful bouncing off the metal that encased the city. On the table were two place settings with covered dishes. Several candles were sitting unlit between them and there was a white rose on one of the napkins. She floundered to a halt uncertainly.

The tin man sighed. "This wasn't the way I wanted the evenin' to go."

Flabbergasted, she continued to stare at the table. He'd planned a date for them? This wasn't computing for her. Not this kind of date at any rate. This was… well this was so cliché it seemed unreal. But it wasn't corny in the slightest. She had no idea how that was even possible.

Wyatt had jumped past fun and straight to amorous without a thought. No one had ever done something like this for her. No one ever associated her with this sort of attention. She was a dreamer by nature and a tomboy by practice. The guys she had dated weren't interested in anything even remotely resembling sentimental. She wasn't the kind of female to exude the expectation for this kind of thing either. She bit her lip to try to hold her emotions in check. Why Cain would do this for her, because this was definitely for her, was staggering to say the least.

"Deeg?"

She snapped out of her thoughts in a hurry. They needed to talk. She didn't need to be thinking about herself, or the utterly irrational rush of emotions she was feeling, at this very moment in time. Clearing her face she rotated back to him. Reaching out she caught his hand and squeezed it gently. She didn't want him feeling like he was alone or in some way isolated while they talked about this. "You need to tell me what's happening in your head right now."

His jaw clenched for the briefest moment. "I think we both know what's goin' on in my head."

"I'm not sure that's true." She squeezed his hand again. "I can't help if you won't talk to me."

"I hear them screamin'." He finally forced out. "Over and over. I can't block it out anymore. I got used to not hearin' it again."

Her heart clenched but she nodded without a hint of distress. "What else?"

His hand tightened around hers so hard she almost yelped. "It's my fault you got attacked."

"That's not true." She said firmly. "I had no control over my magic at all. I would have let anyone out of a suit. I'm lucky it was you and not one of the criminals. I don't even want to think about what-"

"No, Deeg."

"No? No, what?"

He fought with himself for several seconds. She could only imagine how hard this must be for him. He was private and he didn't extend trust easily. This had to be excruciating no matter how close the two of them were. "At Finaqua and in your room."

That threw her. "You lost me. How could you have possibly caused that?"

She saw the anger in his eyes. "I left him."

This wasn't getting any clearer. "You didn't leave Jeb."

"I left Zero in a suit! I left him out there in the woods!"

A shot of clarity hit her. "It wasn't Zero, Wyatt. This isn't your fault."

"You don't know-"

She cut him off. "I do know."

Silence stretched between them. He was searching her eyes as he processed that. "What does that mean? How can you know?"

She realized this might get ugly fast, but she answered. "I get a report on Zero every month. It was on my desk when we got back from Finaqua. He's where he's supposed to be. He doesn't have contact with anyone that could set up an assassination attempt."

He let go of her hand abruptly. She saw real rage in his eyes. "You're keepin' secrets from me?"

"It wasn't a secret." She struggled to make this right and knew he wasn't going to see it that way. "If you'd asked I would have told you."

"If I'd asked?" His voice rose. "What else should I be askin' about? Why are you gettin' reports about Zero?" He spat the name out.

She kept her voice calm and level in contrast to his shouting. "I get reports on all the high ranking longcoats that have been captured. Zero happens to be one of them. I need to know where they are and what they're doing at all times. Do you have any idea how badly I could get sidelined by one of the guilds, or even an outside country if I didn't know where they are? They're dangerous men. They pissed off a lot of people." She paused for a second before continuing. "It's my job to know what's happening everywhere. If I don't we could end up in another civil war. The people might accept that Az is going to be queen, but it's only because I'm backing her with my politics and policy. You know there's a faction of people that would rather have me on the throne. If I don't keep up good relations the O.Z. is going to collapse."

His rage fizzled down to anger. "You should have told me."

"You didn't need to worry about it. You're running half the military forces in the country even though there are four other generals. You need to be focused on that, not a man that's in prison. You beat an obsession. I didn't want you latching back onto it. If anything had changed, if he'd gotten out or started plotting something, I would have told you first. But he hasn't gotten out. He's not going to."

"That doesn't make me feel any better about this!"

"I can't change that I didn't tell you." She continued with honesty because he was calming down even if it wasn't a whole lot. "I'm not going to apologize either. I did what I thought was best. You tell me to rely on my instincts at least once a week. So that's what I did."

She saw frustrated pride in his eyes for a split second. "Fine."

"You're not mad?"

"Oh, I'm mad."

He was the most baffling thing she'd ever encountered. She was lost all over again. "Okay. Are we going to fight about this or what?"

"I don't want to fight with you." He moved to the closest piece of furniture, which happened to be his favorite chair, and flopped down. "I understand why you didn't tell me. If the roles had been reversed I wouldn't have told you either." She didn't know what to say to that but he saved her the trouble. He looked her dead in the eye. "But you lie to me like that again and we're goin' to have a serious problem. There's no difference between not tellin' me somethin' and lyin'. Alright?"

She crossed her arms. "Only if we're both operating under the same set of rules. I don't do double standards."

"I don't expect you to."

"Then alright." They went into another silence. Another adjustment period. She felt like she was dancing through a minefield as they worked this whole thing out. She wondered how sex could complicate things so much when they hadn't even had sex yet.

He finally broke the silence. "Where is he?"

She sighed. This was a bad path for him to go down. "Wyatt, if you start this are you going to be able to stop?"

"I only want to know where he is. I'm not goin' to do anything."

"You know you sound like an alcoholic." She leaned away from him unconsciously. She had never liked this. She might understand why he did it, but that didn't mean it made her any less nervous or worried for him. "One more drink and it'll be your last one. There's always another drink until you run out of whiskey. Then you have to go and rob a liquor store." Something ran over his face. She couldn't place it but she saw him actually turning that concept over in his head. She pushed as much as she was willing to. "I'll tell you if you want to know, but you need to kick this addiction you have. You're stubborn, Wyatt. We have that in common. Which way are you going to throw yourself at? Your addiction or your life? You can't have both."

He rubbed his face with his hand. "Kid-"

"Why do you do this? Does thinking about getting him make the screaming stop? Can you even hear it anymore? And if you can't when did it stop?"

His hand dropped and he looked at her with an icy gaze. "You think _Zero_ is some sort of fix for me?"

"I think the idea of seeing him dead at your feet is." He was out of the chair in an instant and she knew she'd hit one of his soft spots. He stalked toward her and she took half a step back. He fell headlong into rage and she realized his warning about him scaring her had been more than an imagined expectation at what might happen. He had known he would scare her without a doubt. She wouldn't let that stop her. "There are better ways of dealing with this! You are torturing yourself! Haven't you had enough of that?"

"What do you know about it?" He snarled.

"I know it was a living nightmare." He was in her space completely. "I know it wouldn't stop." His eyes were glittering dangerously. "I know you blame yourself for what happened. I know you still do."

"Stop-"

"I know you're even more confused now then you were when it was happening. You have to be don't you? You don't even have anyone to hunt down anymore, only the memory of it."

"That's enough-"

"I know I can help you get it to leave you alone for more than a week or so if you let me." He growled but she wouldn't back down. "But I also know you have to want me to help. I can't do that if you keep going back to what didn't work before." He was stiff all over and she stared up at him. "You trusted me to save the entire Outer Zone when I had no idea how to use my magic. Why can't you trust me to save you after everything we've been through?"

His arm snaked out and wrapped around her. He tugged her against his chest and pressed his cheek against the side of her head. Reaching up she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "I do." He said raggedly. "I trust you."

"Then you need to believe me when I tell you to let this go." The hand that wasn't around her waist came up to tangle in her hair. His breathing was erratic and she tightened her arms around him as they stood there. "Let it go, Wyatt." She whispered. "It'll kill you if you don't."

He nodded against her and started backing them up with her pressed hard against him. Then they were both in the chair and she was straddling his lap. His hold on her hadn't loosened in the slightest and she momentarily felt like a child's teddy bear as he clutched at her. She didn't mind. Reaching up she started to stroke her fingers through his hair soothingly and he slowly began to relax under her. After several long minutes he turned his head slightly and kissed the side of her neck. Heat flushed through her at the gentle touch and the tin man raised his head. Rubbing her cheek he sighed in regret.

"Tonight was supposed to be about you."

She sent him a reassuring smile. "I don't really think we can plan these talks in advance."

He was upset and that was the last thing she wanted.

"This isn't how things are supposed to work, Deeg." Leave it to Cain to have some sort of meticulous plan laid out for them. And leave it to her to blow that plan into a million little pieces dancing about on the breeze.

"Is there some sort of manual on romancin' I should be aware of?" She asked, mimicking him teasingly. "Considering this is me, you should probably throw that out the window and open up some space on your bookshelf."

It broke the tension. He let out a low huff at her. "Cute."

She grinned cheekily and tossed her hair a bit. "I know I am."

He chuckled at her before pulling her in for a gentle kiss. Cupping his face with both her hands she deepened it ever so slightly. The last thing she ever imagined doing when they first met was comforting him about anything. He didn't seem like the type of man that would allow that. Over the last few years she'd seen him differently. She knew he wouldn't ask for comfort. That didn't mean he didn't want it.

Wyatt was a deeply emotional man. Just because he didn't show that side of himself to many people didn't mean it wasn't part of him. She often thought that he had probably been the shy kid in the back of the class when he was a boy. The one that no one noticed until he hit his teen years and turned into the sensitive heartbreaker. She wondered how much the iron maiden had changed him. She wondered what he had been before. She wondered if she would have fallen in love with him if he hadn't been changed in such a fundamental way. She wondered if he would love her now if he met her past self. The isolated artist that no one paid attention to or took seriously. The one that ran from her problems instead of dealing with them. Maybe it didn't matter. They were here together now with all their emotional baggage jumbled together.

When she ended the kiss gently he pulled away slowly. He rubbed her cheek. "The food's gone cold by now. I'm sorry, Darlin'."

"Mage here." She pointed to herself. "I can reheat like a microwave."

"What's a microwave?"

She shook her head. "It's like an oven that cooks things really fast."

He sent her a teasing smile. "I've had your cookin' before. We should go get new food instead."

"You're one to talk. At least when I'm done destroying ingredients they actually resemble food as opposed to lumps of burnt coal." His eyes glittered in amusement and her mind began to whirl. "This was a really sweet thing to do."

He was frustrated and she knew it. She refused to let him get bummed about this. They needed to talk and they had. All they could do now was move on from it. She smiled at him as he got up and twined their fingers together. She was touched by how thoughtful this he had been. Really she was. "No one's ever taken me out to a romantic dinner before." He opened his mouth to say something about that but she was quicker. "But I am not at all properly attired for such an affair."

"You look fine."

She tried not to laugh at his assessment. Leaning in she kissed him quickly. "Thank you so much. I feel very pretty now. However, despite your appreciation of women that aren't overly fussy, I like to get dressed up before going out. Especially for our first date. It's an Otherside thing."

He pulled her back on his lap. She squeaked and then laughed at him. He kissed her cheek. "You don't need to change." He tugged on the fabric of her pants. "I like looking at you in pants."

"Do you?" He hummed in agreement and she shook her head. "I have to put a double in my room anyway or someone is going to get suspicious or send out the army after me."

"Then make it and have her leave." His hand grazed over hip. "That way you don't have to go anywhere."

She could see she wasn't going to out stubborn him about this. Considering he had talked to her and kept his promise she was willing to let him have this round. "Okay." Closing her eyes she flickered with light as she built the now familiar doppelganger. The tin man shifted below her and it almost threw her concentration. Luckily, she'd done this about five times now and finished the spell without further incident. When she opened her eyes she was looking at herself.

Cain was looking at the other her too. "This is plain unnervin'."

She laughed and spoke to her spell. "Would you mind going back to my room and hiding out until tomorrow morning?"

"Can I draw?"

"Yeah, all my art supplies are in the desk. Third draw from the top."

"Cool. Have fun." With that the illusion turned around and slipped out the door.

When it closed the tin man shook his head slightly. "Nope, didn't like that at all."

She grinned at him and sent him her big eyes. "Why not?"

"Because you're trouble and now you can double it."

She pouted at him and he helped her to her feet. When they got to the table she waved her hand and her light danced over the entire area. The candles sprang to life and she knew the food was as hot as it was when it had arrived. No harm done to it at all.

The tin man pulled her chair to before she could slip into it by herself and she let him settle her. She still thought she might be underdressed for this but didn't let that bother her for more than a second or two. She would dress up for him next time. Hopefully, not all of these types of things would be surprises. She was sure she could get his jaw to drop with an Otherside styled cocktail dress. Next time, she promised herself. Wyatt sat down across from her and eased into a conversation without trouble. As she answered his question she found her favorite chicken dish under the cover on her plate and smiled as she set it down by her rose.

Author Note: Yay! Done in one week instead of two! Go me! Leave me a review! You know how I love them!


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer:

She wasn't entirely sure how they'd ended up tangled together on his couch. She would blame it on the wine if she was forced to point to a cause, because he had made a great selection on that. Or maybe it was his pants. She felt she could blame them as well. As she considered that Wyatt pressed his lips to the soft spot under her ear and she shuddered. On second thought maybe she should get some more of that wine and figure out who exactly provided these pants, because the tin man needed another pair for her to look at, instead of trying to work out the reason she was in this position. Besides, it wasn't like she was complaining. She would have done a hell of a lot to end up right where she was.

What she did know was that dinner had been amazing in every way and when they moved to the couch afterward all they had been doing was talking. Then the tin man had taken her hand gently and kissed her knuckles absently as they spoke. The soft touch, so full of tenderness and nothing else, pretty much threw her for a loop. She had been trying to adjust to this new side of him since they sat at the table and found she was very confused over what to do with him.

Now that the confession part was over with Wyatt had shifted when they were alone. Apparently admitting that he cared about her had been the hardest part for him. He had always been patient and considerate where she was involved but most of the barriers he'd thrown up between them, and everyone else, had dropped away. Most of them at any rate. Now he was treating her as if she were some sort of precious commodity. He wasn't even trying to pretend he wasn't ultra protective or interested in her. It was right there out in the open. For her this was totally new territory. So when he held her hand and kissed her like she was the most lovely thing he'd ever seen she did what she always did when she had no idea how she was supposed to act. She followed her instincts.

A second later and she had crossed the small distance between them and was in his lap and kissing him. He grunted in surprise at the sudden bold move before wrapping his arms around her. Her arms slipped around his shoulders and he deepened the kiss as one of his hands snaked up into her hair. Moaning softly at the heat radiating out of him she pressed as close to him as possible. Her legs spread farther as she tucked herself against him and the tin man groaned. As soon as she molded herself against him he twisted and she was moving through the air. Then her back was pressed against the couch cushions and the tin man was settling himself over her.

Pushing himself up on his elbow he broke the kiss slowly, coming back several times to touch the side of her mouth with his. He was utterly amused with her. It was at odd contrast with the lust she could feel radiating off of him. "You're dead set on racin' to the finish line aren't you?"

"Nonsense." She teased happily as she ran her finger over his back in small circles. His muscles bunched when she noted how strong that reaction was. She wondered if she'd found a sensitive spot or if she was really causing him to react this strongly to her. The thought of that sent her head spinning as feminine pride flowed through her. God he made her feel pretty even when he didn't mean too. "If that were the case your pants would already be off."

He let out a low chuckle even as his lips pressed back against hers. "I'm goin' to stop askin' you questions."

"Why's that?" Reaching up she ran her fingers through his hair. It was soft and she found she was a little jealous of it. She would give a lot to have straight hair like his. It would be so much easier to deal with then her unruly curls. Sometimes she was sure they had a life of their own.

"Goin' to make me blush." She burst out laughing and he smiled as he began to kiss his way down her neck. "You don't respect my boundaries at all."

"You're the one on top of me right now." She pointed out playfully.

He hummed in agreement before holding her waist with his free hand and flipping them over. She was sprawled out over his chest a second later and put her arm over his chest so she could push herself up. She knew her eyes were glittering as she stared down at him. "Now you're making me the bad guy."

"Naw." He pushed a curl behind her ear. "Don't want to make myself into a hypocrite."

"Nope, can't have that." She propped her chin on her hand. "Your shinny, heroic tin man persona would be forever tarnished."

"You forgot noble and brave."

He was in a good mood to be bantering with her as much as he was. He had really relaxed over dinner. "I did. My deepest apologies."

"I think I can forgive you this once." Pulling her head down he kissed her again. She sighed happily into his mouth and melted against him. He nipped her lower lip before breaking away. "I want to talk for a second, Deeg."

He wanted to talk more? Right now? That was so mean. She gazed down at him and saw that while his eyes were soft they were also serious. She couldn't believe he wanted to talk anymore tonight. Not after the Zero subject had come up. She was shocked he wanted to do anything other than chill out with her for the next few days even if that wasn't going to be an option. But she could see he was set on this so she agreed. "Okay."

"Okay." Holding her against him he sat them up. He searched for something for a moment before speaking. "What exactly does this mean to you?"

Her eyebrows came together. She was sure they had already talked about this. But then again Wyatt had a history. She could understand if he needed some reassurance. Hell, she needed reassurance and she hadn't lived through what he had. "I love you."

He smiled and cupped her cheek. "I know what I mean to you." His hand smoothed over her skin. She figured he could tell she was baffled. "I also know that the Otherside is a different place." He was searching for something. "It had different rules."

"Rules?"

He rephrased that. "Expectations."

She understood what he was getting at in a flash of clarity. "Ah." This was a bit uncomfortable to be perfectly honest. But no matter how embarrassing this might be he deserved honesty from her. "All right." She shifted. This was going to get personal fast. They'd had conversations about her old home before. With all the time they spent together it wasn't like they could avoid the subject that was Kansas. A few of those conversations had been about what she, and most other teens and young adults did. They had all been rather broad and hypothetical discussions. The only questions he could have left would be personal. "What do you want to know?"

He felt her tense up. "I'm not about to interrogate you." She relaxed a bit and he sent her a reassuring smile. "But I do want to be on the same page that you are."

She gave him a half shrug and dove on in. She would prefer if they could get past this as quickly as possible. "I mean… on the Otherside this stuff is fun. It's not as big a deal as it is here." She found this was a lot harder to articulate than she had thought it would be. Especially with him watching her so intently. She cared what he thought about her and the things she did more than she cared what her own parents thought. The idea that he might be angry, or worse disappointed, made her stomach role with nerves. "It can be more than that but not unless both people are in it for the long haul." She let out a small sigh. "Does that make sense to you?"

"In a way." From the way he looked she could see he had been thinking about this. "It's different than what I grew up with." His thumb caressed her cheek. "Doesn't mean that your side of the rainbow is wrong." She was happy he was trying to see this from her perspective. It had only taken her a few weeks to realize social interactions in that realm were approached differently in the O.Z.

Courting was accepted without much regard to anything but the feelings between the partners. She would have expected more complications between social classes but that didn't seem to be the case. She found the prejudices held on Earth weren't the same as the ones in the Outer Zone. There were very few boundaries when it came to picking a partner. The only real rule seemed to be to stay within your own species. A few of the guilds tended to encourage marriage with group members but it wasn't like they would banish one of their own if they chose someone that was outside the group.

But for all the openness of courting options there was one thing that was a lot less open. While sex was by no means taboo, or even discouraged, it was kept behind closed doors. No one denied that it happened and there was plenty of information about it. Parents were actually very thorough about explaining the whole process. But for all the acknowledgement of it occurring and the biology that went into the process, it was a very private activity. It was about pair bonding and sensuality. It was about love. It wasn't about fun, at least not just fun. This whole concept was a bit overwhelming to her when you got right down to it. It was… a lot.

He interrupted her musings. "I have to tell you that it's more than fun for me though. Does that make sense to you?"

She did understand even if she'd never gone into this with more than the expectation of fun or, at the very most, a brief fling. That wasn't at all what Wyatt was talking about and she knew it. "It does."

He must have seen the slight wariness in his eyes. "But?"

"It's not a but." She sent him a rather rueful smile. "It's just what your talking about is a lot for me to get my head around. I never had anyone I wanted to spend more than a couple of months with. This is more than fun for me too. I'm trying to adjust to the difference." Her voice dropped a bit. "It is different with you."

He watched her in that intense way he had. Then he asked her a soft question. "Are you nervous about this?"

She set her pride to the side for the moment. He'd be able to tell if she was lying anyway. There was no point in putting up the effort. Her smile faded as she answered. "Yes."

Leaning in he kissed her forehead. "Wasn't expectin' that."

"Why not?"

"I don't know. You still surprise me sometimes." His hand left her cheek and ran through her hair. "I don't want you nervous with me holdin' you or touchin' you. I want you to feel safe with me."

"I do feel safe with you. That doesn't mean I'm not nervous about what we're doing." She reached up and caught his hand. Twining her fingers with his she continued. "I've never done this before. To be perfectly honest I never thought I'd feel this way about anyone. I didn't even think love was real. Not like this. It sounded too much like some whimsical fairytale to me. Wyatt, I don't have the slightest idea how to do this."

His free hand slid to her neck and rubbed her gently. "This isn't a test, Darlin'. There's not a set way to go about it."

"Well that's good at least. I'm awful at following any sort of script."

His lip curled up at the corner even as he moved past her joking. "I love you, Kid." He said it with such simple conviction that it took her breath away. "The rest'll fall into place as we go."

She'd learned too much in the last year. She'd past too many boundaries and seen too many things to take that without a grain of salt. "You make it sound easy."

"Sometimes it will be." He kissed her quickly. "I think for us it'll be easy most of the time. And you're good at improvisin'. That'll make things better."

To think, the tin man was the one being optimistic. How the tables had turned she thought incredulously. "Really? You're not just trying to bolster my courage here?"

His eyes twinkled. "As if you need me to bolster your courage. I should be subduin' it is what I should be doin'. Better for my peace of mind. I wouldn't worry half as much if you stopped runnin' into crazy and life threatenin' situations."

Now he was being hypocritical. She felt better all at once and laughed at him. "I hope you aren't planning on doing that. I have a feeling you would fail utterly. Waste of time."

"I suppose it would be." He sighed with mock tragedy. "Only one thing for me to do."

"What-" She was pressed back down onto the cushions and started to laugh harder. His fingers danced down her ribs and she squirmed and giggled. "Wyatt! No!"

He chuckled and left her side alone as he lowered his head and kissed her warmly. "Make you forget you're nervous."

"That's plain devious tin man trickery."

"I know. Not fair to you at all." His lips moved to the base of her jaw. "What with all my rustic charm and good looks."

"And the general star. That's really the important part."

"That too." He nibbled at her neck in a way that had chills running down her spine and she stretched up to give him better access to her skin. One of his hands slid up her side and stop just under her left breast, rubbing her over her shirt gently. Blood began to pool in her stomach warmly as all the air in her lungs seemed to vanish in a rush. His thumb tickled just below her breast and she arched into him. He kissed her hotly before speaking. "You need to tell me if we're goin' to fast for you."

"We're not."

He kissed her again and her hands slipped down his chest and toward the bottom of his shirt. She had a sudden intense urge to feel his skin on hers. Wyatt didn't try to stop her and she tugged his shirt out from under his pants. Her fingers brushed the bare skin of his stomach and he let out a warm breath against the place where her shoulder met her neck. "It's been a long time for me, Kid. You have to go easy on me."

She paused with her hands resting on his hips. She considered what he said seriously. While it was true she was nervous it wasn't like she was about to get less nervous if they dragged this out. She knew herself well enough that it would only get worse the longer they waited. The anticipation and expectations would eventually have her so insecure that she would psych herself out and start picturing worse case scenarios of something that should be anything but scary or intimidating.

After nearly two years of fantasying rather guiltily about him she was already on edge about this. Add onto all of that tangled mess that this was a pretty giant step for him and she was practically quivering with tension. The only thing keeping her from bolting at this very instant was a massive amount of self-control and her inherent trust in him. The more she thought about it the worse waiting sounded. She wanted to jump this hurtle while her courage was up and their picture perfect date was right behind them.

Reaching up she cupped his face and kissed him gently. His arm tangled with hers as he stroked her neck and face. When they finally broke apart she looked straight into his eyes. "Take me to bed."

The tin man was shocked by the request. She figured not many women on this side were as blunt as she was, or as forward. That or he simply hadn't run into one of them in this type of situation before. "We haven't even been courtin' a day-"

Her fingers traced the planes of his face lightly. "We've been courting for years. We were just calling it something else. I love you, Wyatt Cain. Take me to bed so I can show you."

"Are you sure, Darlin'?"

"Yes."

He didn't ask again. Slipping off her he got to his feet and then helped her to hers. She held onto his hand firmly as they moved toward his bedroom. He paused long enough to turn off the lights before turning to her and sweeping her off her feet. Holding her like a new bride he toed open the door and moved forward. Her arms wrapped around his shoulders and she kissed him right under his jaw as the enormity of what they were about to do crashed over her. When he lowered her to the blankets and kissed her passionately she pushed all fears aside and let herself fall fully into him. There was nothing left to do anymore. She loved him too damn much.

Author Note: I realize I haven't updated in a few weeks. Sorry guys. I had group projects, finals, had to move out of my apartment, and go to graduation. My crazy family came in and on top of all that my computer went haywire. I should be updating more frequently now. School's over and I'm currently unemployed. Lots of free time.


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: Tin Man isn't mine.

He laid Deeg down on the bed and kissed her with warm tenderness. He couldn't believe what she'd said to him or how forward she was about what she wanted. He didn't know why. The girl followed her instincts. Her instincts were driving her to him fast and hard. He found he didn't want to discourage the kid in the slightest. If that made him less than chivalrous than he could live with it. He comforted himself with her firm conviction that they had been courting far longer than either of them were admitting. He'd used the same argument on her just two days before and she had accepted it. He saw no reason he couldn't accept it as well.

That didn't mean he wanted to fly through this. He wanted to savor this. He wanted to savor her. He wanted to run his hands over her until she cried out for him. He wanted her to remember this for what it was supposed to be, not whatever she'd made it into in the past. He slowed his hot kisses down and reached up to cup her face tenderly. Surprised by the sudden show of affection as he turned away from sheer lust she looked up at him with those big cornflower eyes of hers. He gazed warmly at her before kissing her gently. Deeg must have sensed what he was after and relaxed into him. He smiled against her lips as she gave into him.

Her hands slid from his shoulder and back down to the top of his pants. The moment her warm fingers touched his skin he groaned. He'd forgotten what it was like to be touched. What it was like to be touched like this. An eternity in the suit and then two years with nothing more than handshaking and the kid's occasional and spontaneous hugs was long enough to have him forgetting. That was all his body remembered. Even the light, inquisitive exploration had him getting hard. The kid's palms flattened slowly over his stomach and slid up toward his chest slowly as she felt him out. At the feel of her hands running over him he knew she was going to push him over the edge pretty damn fast if he was already this excited.

Cursing himself ten ways for a fool for thinking he could take this slow he tried to catch his breath. He hadn't anticipated ending up in this situation tonight. He hadn't prepared for it. When she started to unbutton his shirt with hesitant little flicks he caught her hands as he murmured her name. "Deeg…" He trailed off and pressed his face into her hair. The smell of apple blossoms and lust filled his senses and he bit back another curse. That had hardly helped. Fighting for control his arms came up on either side of her small frame and he went still all over as embarrassment and frustration warred for dominance.

In response DG turned her head and kissed his cheek affectionately. Then her hands darted down faster than he could track and loosened his pants. He let out a ragged breath and reached for her wrists. Twisting her head she caught his lips with hers and kissed him deeply. Their arms tangled together for a few seconds before she somehow managed to evade him. He thought she had an advantage since he was trying to stay balanced above her. The kid's hand slid under his pants and then she was rubbing him. He let out a strangled groan. "Kid, you need to stop."

"It's okay." She pressed feather light kisses along his jaw as she reassured him.

"I'm not going to be able to stop." He gritted out between his teeth.

"Relax, Wyatt. I'm not going anywhere." His breathing was getting ragged as his body tensed up. Deeg speed up as she peppered his face with butterfly light kisses. Giving up he let the sensations run over him as he found her lips. The instant he gave in his body began to tighten as he raced past the point of no return. Then her thumb ran over him in the most imaginative way and he let out a short shout as he came fast and hard. Pure euphoria hit him as his vision went dark. Pleasure wracked through him and he gasped at the feeling. After several long seconds he slumped over her and went still as he tried to catch his breath.

A small wave of magic washed over them and he twitched as magic tingled over his skin and her hand left him. He vaguely realized she'd used it to clean them and didn't know what to make of that. His thoughts didn't linger on the idea for very long because she began to run her hands through his hair as she pressed herself against him. "Are you all right?" He let out a grunt. Two minutes with her touching him and he'd lost it. He wasn't impressed with himself. Deeg interpreted the sound for what it was and turned her head so they could see one another. Sending him a half smile as her eyes twinkled she continued. "I'm going to do that again unless you talk to me using actual words."

To prove her point her hand began to slip downward and he grabbed her. "That's blackmail."

"Don't be ridiculous. I don't want money. This is coercion."

He let out a huff of amusement as his discomfiture faded away. Leave it to Deeg to set him at ease after that. Rolling to his side he pulled her with him. His blood was still pounding happily through his veins as he fitted her against him. "I feel like an overexcited sixteen year old."

She laughed softly as she relaxed into his loose embrace. "I'm flattered."

He shook his head before kissing her gently. As much as he wished he hadn't lost control like that he knew why she did it. He was calm enough to take things slow now. That was what he wanted. He supposed he couldn't be angry with this outcome. Rolling Deeg to her back again he got to his knees. She started to follow him when he put his hand over her stomach and rubbed her gently. "Let's try this again."

She sent him a smile that told him he had nothing to worry about and laid back down. He could tell she was curious over what he was about to do. Running his hand up her leg he squeezed her knee before moving to her foot. He tugged her shoe off and tossed it to the floor before peeling her sock off. Deeg was watching him with mystified amusement, as if she never expected him to unwrap her. He ran his fingers over the sole of her foot, massaging her gently. She sighed contently at the feeling and her eyes fluttered shut. Intrigued with her reaction he continued to rub her. He knew it would take awhile for him to bounce back and he wanted to make her feel good in everyway he could. A few minutes later he moved to her other foot. When his fingers brushed her ankle she giggled.

He raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Are you ticklish everywhere?"

"Not everywhere."

He smiled and moved back over her. "But nearly everywhere?"

"No, just in a few very specific locations that you keep pinpointing in some sort of magical and unfair way."

Chuckling, he kissed her deeply. Arching into him Deeg wrapped one of her legs around his waist and held him close as she rolled her hips. He groaned as she imitated what they both wanted and his arousal stirred again. He hadn't expected to be ready this fast. At least now he felt like he could hold himself back while he took care of her for a little while.

Lowering his head he kissed his way from her jaw down the column of her neck. She sighed his name out happily and his hands slid up under her top. When he did the kid undulated up into him. Sitting up in a rush he pulled her with him so she was sitting in his lap. She lifted her arms up over her head and he peeled her shirt up and off her. She shivered as the cool air in the room hit her and shivered as she pressed against his partially exposed skin. He held her tightly and ran his hands over her as they sat there twined together. The girl was molded against him so closely he almost lost where he ended and she started. Tangling his hand in her curls he felt her moan into his mouth more than he heard it and he knew he needed to get them out of their clothes soon or he might go insane. Their mouths were still locked together as he twisted them down again.

Deeg pushed his shirt off his shoulders and he shook it off one arm at a time as he balanced over her. Tossing the shirt away he rolled them over and pawed at the back of her strange corset. He had never seen anything like the small strip of purple lace before, but it was only attached with a small metal clasp. That was infinitely easier than laces and loops. It was off a second later and he tossed it after his shirt. Deeg sat up so she was straddling his waist and his eyes roved over her now exposed skin. His eyes hooded at the sight of her pale skin in the dark room. The girl was a vision with her curls falling around her shoulders and a sliver of moonlight sweeping across her stomach. It made her pale skin practically glow in the diffused white light.

Unable to keep from touching her any longer he ran his hands from her hips up to her chest. She sighed softly when he started to touch her and pushed into his questing fingers. Leaning down she kissed him hard as her hands ran up his chest. Reaching between them he unbuttoned her pants before sliding her to the mattress next to him. Moving, he sat up on his knees again and grabbed the top of her pants. He tugged at them and she lifted her hips to help get them off.

He stood up long enough to take off his own pants and when he looked over he saw she'd slipped out of her panties. When he saw them tossed past him he climbed back over her. Catching the back of his neck she pulled his face down to hers and kissed him gently. When she wrapped her leg over his hip he grabbed it quickly and unhooked it. "Not so fast."

She pouted up at him and he smiled at her as he touched her bottom lip with his index finger. He'd never seen her pout before. Not like this. It was the most endearing thing he'd ever seen. His eyes swept over her slowly and he changed his opinion. It was the most erotic thing he'd ever seen. "Not goin' to work, Darlin'." She stuck her lip out farther and his lips twitched. "Maybe try this again later."

Vexed that she hadn't gotten her way Deeg shot him a smoky smile under his finger and let her head fall to the side seductively. She looked up at him from under her lashes and he wasn't sure if he wanted to laugh or beg for mercy. "Still not workin'." She batted her eyes and he grumbled as he nuzzled her neck. "Alright, it might be workin' a bit."

She hummed in approval and arched her neck back so he would have better access. As he kissed the base of her throat he ran his hand down between her legs and stroked her gently. Her body jerked at the sudden and unexpected assault before she spread her legs farther. She murmured his name approvingly as she pressed her hips up into his hand eagerly. Moving slowly he trailed his lips down her body as he continued to rub her. By the time he hit her navel she was writhing under him and he could smell her arousal every time he sucked in a breath.

Kissing her hip he watched her intently. She was watching him from under hooded eyes as she panted. Moving his hand he ran it up along her inner thigh as he moved his head lower. Deeg tangled her fingers in the sheets as he continued toward his destination. She whimpered his name again as she quivered. Spreading her legs he kissed her hipbone before moving inward. She let out a breathless whine and he nipped at the skin above her curls in response. Looping his arm around her leg he held her still before wrapping his lips around her clit. Hissing in approval her back arched as sensation shot through her. His other hand splayed out over her stomach to hold her down and his tongue flicked out to tease her.

When she started to cry out it only made him more enthusiastic. She gasped when he bit her gently and then he laughed into her. That only made her buck harder. Amazed with how responsive she was changed his pace every minute or so to see what she would do. Eventually she lost patience and her hands went from the blankets to his hair. She tugged sharply. "Stop teasing me!"

Giving into her strangled plea he sucked on her hard as he pressed two of his fingers inside her. Deeg lost it. Her eyes rolled back in her head as her back arched up off the bed at an incredible angle. He continued to tease her with his mouth as she came, dragging out her orgasm for as long as possible.

When he finally left her alone she slumped to the blankets, panting hard. He kissed his way up her body slowly as his hands ran over her skin soothingly. He thought that more than made up for his earlier incident. Her hands loosened up and started gliding over his shoulders a little shakily. He nipped at her ribs then trailed up to her neck. "Was that good for you, Darlin'?"

"God, yes." She gasped.

He hummed in approval. "I want you to feel good."

"I feel good." She assured him breathlessly. "Could you maybe give me just a minute though?"

He held back a laugh. "I think I can do that." He answered as he reached up and brushed her hair back. Nodding, she shifted so she could press her head against his shoulder. He ran his hands over her sides as she got herself back together. A minute or so later she kissed his shoulder and leaned back.

"Okay, feel better now."

He quirked an eyebrow. "You feel better _now_?"

She shook her head. "Well, I can think again. You made my brain shut off. I wonder if that's how Glitch used to feel."

He rolled his eyes. "We are _not_ talking about Glitch right now."

"Fine. You're a total spoilsport you know that? I can't even go into hypothetical discussions with-"

He kissed her to get her to be quiet. "Later." Her amusement was palpable. "I think I can come up with more interesting activities for that mind of yours to think on than hypothetical situations involving the headcase."

"You sure?"

"Very sure." Nudging her legs apart he settled between them and she cradled his hips between hers. He searched her eyes as he kissed her gently and she reached up and ran her thumb over his cheek. Rubbing himself along the outside of her he kissed her one more time before reaching down and positioning himself. Even bracing himself didn't fully prepare him for her slick heat. She moaned as he pressed into her and his breathing went ragged as he bottomed out inside her. "Ozma, Deeg." He breathed into her ear.

Her hands went down and tightened over his upper arms as she rolled her hips slightly. With a groan of understanding he nipped her right below the jaw and started to move. He went as slow as he could manage, wanting to make this last as long as he could, and she started to pant as the pressure built up between them. Her nails began to dig into his skin and he started to grunt softly every time he was fully inside her. They worked up a sheen of sweat as they rocked together and he started to approach the edge again.

Calling his name, Deeg bucked up and he reached down to grab her hip. Holding her down he thrust faster and she squirmed as she either tried to escape the sensations or hit her breaking point. He started kissing her face frantically as he groaned and tried to hold on. He wanted them to fall together. Stretching his thumb out he pressed down on her clit right when he was fully inside her. She let out a strangled shout and went stiff around him as she came hard. He followed her a few seconds later unable to wait any longer and the world seemed to explode all around them. His hips shot forward without his direction as he tried to stay as far inside her as possible. Deeg let out a high-pitched whimper and her nails scratched over his back. Even in the haze of pleasure he was in he realized the kid had been bowled over by a second orgasm.

Panting along with her he relaxed slowly and shifted to the side so he wouldn't crush her. Moving her arms languidly she began to run her fingers through his hair. He hummed quietly into the crown of her head and kissed the side of her head. "Okay, Kid?"

Her lips twitched as she laughed breathlessly. "Yeah." Collapsing next to her fully he turned her face toward his and kissed her before letting his head fall to the pillow. His arm was over her middle as they lay there catching their breath. She stretched out along him and he felt her start to shiver. Reaching over he grabbed the blanket and pulled it over them. She murmured her thanks and cuddled against him. He pressed her more securely against him and let his eyes close. He didn't think he had the energy to do anything else but lay in bed with her.

He ran his hand over her shoulder. "I love you."

"I know. I love you too." She caught his hand and she turned over and he spooned up around her. "Even if you do play hard to get." He could see there was no suppressing her insanity regardless of the situation. That thought was amazingly comforting as they drifted off to sleep against each other.

Author Note: Hope you enjoyed that.


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: Still not mine.

He woke up abruptly, confused and disoriented. It was the middle of the night and there was someone in the room with him. Adrenaline hit him hard as he came awake. When he jerked his hand toward his gun Deeg mumbled something sleepily and turned over in his arms. Her hand came up and rubbed over his arm as he lowered it back down beside her. He definitely did not want to shoot the kid under any circumstances, let alone such a pleasant one. "What's the matter, Wyatt?"

He relaxed all over. "Nothin'. Not used to wakin' up with someone next to me." He kissed her gently. She went soft and pliant in his arms and he pulled her closer against him under the quilt. She shifted so they were flat against one another and her leg hooked over his hip. Pressing her to her back he cupped her face and relaxed over her. Her hands ran over his shoulders and he slipped into a warm haze of contented lust. "I'm sorry I woke you up."

"I'm not."

When he pulled back he saw a blush bloom on her cheeks and he could tell she was doing her best to keep eye contact. He rubbed her skin with his thumb as he smiled down at her. Deeg had gone shy on him despite getting closer to him when they came awake. He wasn't surprised. She had already told him she was nervous about this. Between her inherent unease with steady or lasting relationships and the newness of this, it was a wonder she wasn't quaking below him. "You don't need to be embarrassed." He murmured as he kissed her jaw.

"I'm not."

He smiled slightly at the denial. "Then why are you blushin'?"

"I'll have you know this is a flush. I'm too warm." She quipped out.

He laughed into her skin. "I see. Do you want some air?"

"Air? What are you-"

He didn't wait for her to finish. He reached over and yanked the blanket off of them. Deeg squeaked and made a grab at the only thing preventing him from seeing all of her. "Better?"

"Wyatt!" He caught her hands easily and held them against the mattress.

"Not better?"

"You're horrible!"

"That's not what you told me a few hours ago. You need to make up your mind." Her face was now bright pink and he followed the color all the way down her chest. He wondered how far her blush would spread before it stopped. Her skin was so pale he wouldn't be surprised if it coated all of her like a pale pink veneer. "There's no reason for you to cover up." His eyes roamed over her leisurely. "You're damn near perfect."

She turned her head so it was pressed against his. She made it nearly impossible for them to look at one another. "Thank you." She whispered.

"That's a fact not a compliment." He nuzzled her skin and pulled his head away. He wanted to see her not have her hide away from him. While he found her sudden bashful behavior endearing he wanted her to acclimate to this. It would happen faster if he didn't let her dwell on her modesty. Running his hand from her palm to her wrist he continued. "Are you goin' to look at me? Only seems fair since I'm lookin' at you."

"I noticed." She said as her head came back up.

He chuckled and let go of her arm. His hand went down to her upper thigh as he lightly traced the small birthmark he'd been wondering about for the better part of a week. It wasn't big, about half the size of a coin, and looked like a heart. A splash of uniqueness on her otherwise flawless skin. "Been thinkin' about this since you mentioned it."

"What?"

He traced it again. "When you told me you were worried about your double showin' it off I kept wonderin' where it was."

Her lips twitched like crazy at the confession. "You could have asked. I would have told you."

"Takes the fun out of it."

"Is the fun gone now that you've found it?"

He laughed softly. "Hardly." He studied it for a moment longer. "This looks like a heart."

She wasn't interested in discussing what she already knew about her own skin. "You don't have one."

He raised an eyebrow. "You sure?"

She hesitated and began to scan him. Deeg wasn't even bothering with discretion. He fought down a smile as she did exactly what he'd already told her to do. He wanted them to know one another. This was part of it and her curiosity was once again winning out over everything else. "You have a birth mark?" She was craning her neck up to try to see his back. "Where?"

"You think I'm just goin' to tell you?"

She pushed him over and he found himself under her. It wasn't the worst place he could be. "Why do you make everything difficult?" She asked as she moved his arm around, searching.

"I enjoy watchin' you solve problems."

"Because I don't have enough of those without you helping." She answered, kissing him to negate any sting her words might have had. Then she attacked his other arm. "Do I get a hint of some kind?" She questioned as she lifted his arm up and craned her neck around so she could see all of it.

"Why do you need a hint? You've already gone over half of me."

"Purposefully stubborn." She muttered as she twisted her torso around. She started to look at his legs and he began to laugh quietly. There was no hiding now. She'd put herself on display for him. Gods, she was gorgeous. Her head came back around. "What?" He shook his head and her eyes narrowed. "You do have a birthmark don't you?" When he didn't say anything she let out an indignant exclamation. "Wyatt Cain, you are a bad man!" She reached down and began to poke him.

Grunting, he grabbed her and rolled her under him so he could trap her in a bear hug. "None of that."

"You tricked me!" She accused even as her eyes twinkled.

"I'm sorry."

"You are not sorry at all!"

He laughed and kissed her. "Nope. Not a bit contrite." Her grumbled over his sneakiness vanished as he started to touch her. The kid lost her interest in scolding him and began to touch him back. They fell into exploring one another and he was pleased when he found a sensitive spot on her neck. He was equally pleased when she found one on his abdomen. A few minutes later and he let his hand slip down. The kid was wet and warm and he was more than ready to be inside of her.

Holding her with one arm he sat up and took her with him. Her legs were still around his waist, making it easy for him. "Come here." He said quietly as he twisted them about and leaned against the headboard. She let him hold her as she slid down his legs. They were snug against one another in a few seconds and he slid his hand up the back of her neck. Holding her still he kissed her deeply. Deeg murmured his name against his lips and he began to loose himself in her yet again. It was so easy. She made it so easy to love her.

The kid's arms wrapped around his shoulders and he pulled back so he could see her. Sliding his hand around he mapped her face with his fingertips. She smiled softly at him and then he felt her fingers tickling his scalp. Dipping his head he pressed his lips against hers as he moved his hands down along her body. She rubbed against him and his hands settled on her hips. Her breathing hitched when he tightened his hold, and taking that as a positive sign he lifted her up over him.

Her arms tightened as she used her legs to help him. She deepened the kiss as much as possible as she sank down over him. A moment later and she whimpered into him as her back arched. He wasn't in much better shape as he clutched at her tightly. It didn't matter that he'd had her so recently. He was on the edge the moment he slid inside her. She was burning him alive with her wet heat.

Lifting her again he urged her into motion and she planted her legs on the mattress and helped him. He groaned as she sank down on him and she moved her hands so they were braced on either on his shoulders to make it easier. He let her pick the rhythm and she went slowly at first. He thought she might be unsure of what to do but she forged on as heat surrounded them. He continued to kiss and touch her as she moved, their position making it easy for him, and she slowly gained confidence as they moved together.

"Wyatt!" His name came out on a hitching moan.

The sound of her calling to him that way nearly did him in right there. Fighting for control he lifted his hips when she slid down and she bounced slightly. Letting out a gasp she gripped at him hard. She lost her tempo and he began to lift her as she tried to regain control. Kissing his way down her neck he panted to her. "Stay with me, Darlin'."

"Trying." She gasped as she fought to move. "Close."

He nipped at her neck in understanding and moved one of his hands inward. He was close too. He hadn't wanted to let go before she reached her peak but if she was nearly there he was more than willing to help her along. Finding her center he rubbed her a bit roughly in his state. He was too excited to be gentle. Deeg didn't seem to care. She tightened around him as her hands griped his shoulders hard. Her back arched and as she pulsed as he held her hips flat against his. Letting out a loud groan he came with her.

His vision went dark as his entire body stiffened. He heard Deeg let out a loud cry as she shook. Riding the high he held his girl to him as pleasure cascaded through him. Gasping his way down to her he tugged her forward as she swayed backward. Deeg slumped forward and rested against his chest as she pulled air into her lungs. He flopped back into the headboard.

Once he got his bearings he thanked his lucky star that no one had heard her scream. If they had someone would already be banging on his door. He wasn't keen on telling the guard that came knocking that he had a woman in his bed. That would be around the palace by breakfast and the rumors over who was with him would be rampant by lunch. He was sure most of them would be dead on the money as well. Not the best way for their family or friends to find out. Deeg turned her head and kissed his neck and he decided not to worry about hypothetical situations as he eased carefully out of her. There was no need for it. He had enough actual problems to deal with. He didn't need to imagine ones he didn't have.

Reaching up he ran his hand over her hair and she sighed contentedly. "I don't think we should ever get dressed again."

He smiled as his head fell back. "Not sure how well that'll go over." He stroked her back with his palm. "Hard to explain at court."

"Everyone already thinks I'm insane. I think it'll be okay."

"No one is seein' you naked but me." He growled out even as he tickled her skin.

She sighed dramatically. "Fine, we can stay in here then, but no clothes."

Amused, he decided to test this little game of hers. "And what about food?"

"Magic." She flickered with light to prove her point and he shifted her a bit as his skin tingled.

"And-"

Deeg raised her head and put her finger on his lips. He raised an eyebrow and she tilted her head. He saw something stirring behind her eyes and then her magic washed out of her in a gentle wave. An involuntary shudder ran down his spine and Deeg lowered her finger. "That's the fifth time that happened when I used my magic near you." She was searching his eyes.

Damn. He should have known his secret wasn't going to last long once he started holding her. It was easy enough to hide his reaction when no one was near him or touching him. When he felt it all he did was move around. Nothing interesting unless a certain princess was in his lap and her body was pressed all the way up against his. Then it was pretty noticeable. It was time to confess. "I can feel it. Your light."

Alarm raced over her face. "Am I hurting you?"

"No, Darlin'." He reassured her quickly. "It doesn't hurt."

She calmed down. "What's it feel like?" Inquisitively she twined their fingers together. Raising their hands between them she let her magic flow out of her hand. He fought back a groan as the feeling spread down his arm and into his chest. "Does it tickle or something? Because sometimes I think it feels like soap bubbles popping over my skin, but Toto doesn't believe me even though Az swears she's felt the same thing." He recognized her rambling and smiled as she continued on. He found this insight into her thought process to be endlessly entertaining. He had no idea how she had developed a brain that was at once meticulously organized and utterly cluttered. He was starting the think the clutter was a misconception on his part. Maybe she could simply jump from one topic to another so fast he couldn't keep up. "But other times it itches which is really annoying. Especially when the itching ends up concentrated on my nose. Has the tip of you nose ever itched for no reason? It's weird. I feel ridiculous scratching it between spells."

Using his free hand he moved it to the top of her back and slowly ran the very tips of his fingers all the way down her spine. Deeg stopped talking at the sensation and her skin twitched below his hand. He saw the small hairs on her arms stand up. Thinking it was pretty accurate he stared into her eyes. "That's what it feels like."

"Oh." Her voice had gone a bit breathy. He hummed in acknowledgement. "All the time?"

"No." Flattening his hand he ran it around to her rib cage. Moving with agonizing slowness he traveled up to her chest. Deeg quivered all over as he touched her and when his thumb ran in a tight circle over her nipple she pressed against his hand. "Sometimes it feels like this."

"Any…" Her voice faded away briefly as he teased her. "Anything else?"

"Well,-" He let his hand skim down over her stomach and between her legs. "-every now and then, on very rare occasions-" He stroked her center and she gasped. "-it feels just like this."

"So not bad at all then." She assessed as he rubbed her.

"No, not bad at all." Deeg pressed her hips against his hand. Letting her hand go at last he lopped his arm around her and laid them down over the blankets. Deeg stretched out as her hand flew down to his to hold him where he was. She pressed against him harder as her head fell back and he admired the long line of her neck. Slipping a finger inside of her had her moaning as he murmured. "You are beautiful, Deeg."

Her only answer was his name and he pressed a second finer inside of her. Crooking his fingers up he ran them along her looking for her soft spot. She jerked when he did and he leaned down and kissed her. He had rather strong feeling she was going to get loud again and wanted to muffle the noise no matter how much he enjoyed hearing her scream his name. Crooking his thumb he found her clit and pressed down as he thrust his fingers into her. The kid let out a small scream that he caught against his lips as she clamped down around him. That hadn't taken very long. She was most likely still sensitive from their last encounter.

Taking his hand away he wiped it off on the edge of his sheet. Deeg shook below him as he groped for the blanket and pulled it back over them. As the kid began to relax he settled them and tucked her against his chest. She sighed and hid her face in his neck. "We have two days of vacation left. Can we stay here? Just until then?"

Even as she said it he knew she knew that wasn't, and couldn't happen. Tucking his chin over her head he rubbed her shoulder. He couldn't say yes to that and they both knew it. But maybe they could do something else. "When this all blows over I'll take you away for a couple of weeks. We'll go on a real vacation. We can stay in bed all week if that's what you want."

She was quiet for a long few second. "Really?"

"I promise."

"I'd like that a lot."

"Me too."

"Except for staying in bed for the whole week. I really don't think I could pull that off no matter how good you are in it."

He chuckled and he felt her smile. "In that case we'll go somewhere that we can stretch our legs every few days."

"Somewhere with water?"

He looked down at her curiously. "Why with water?"

"I like to swim. I never got a chance when we were at Finaqua."

"Then we'll go to a place where you can swim." He twisted one of her curls around his finger. "Rules out North Country."

She shivered at the mention of it. "No cold. I had enough of that last winter."

True enough. They'd had five blizzards in the last month. He hadn't seen that much snow in years, not since he was a boy. "Nowhere cold."

Pushing herself up slightly she sent him a questioning look. "Can we go to the coast? I've never seen the ocean before."

"You haven't?" That couldn't be right. They'd gone close when they went to that meeting last year… But close wasn't the ocean. They never had gotten to the bluffs had they? They'd been a few miles away negotiating. It had taken so long they'd had to leave immediately afterward to get back to yet another meeting in the city. Deeg hadn't as much as mentioned being interesting in seeing the ocean. Even on their schedule he would have made a detour for her if she'd asked. "You should have told me that when we were in Riften."

She gave a half shrug. "We were too busy for sightseeing."

He kissed her gently. "You need to start tellin' me when you want to do somethin'. We're always goin' to be busy. Nothin' is about to change that. You're goin' to have to make time for the things you want when we aren't in a crisis."

"But-"

"No buts. I don't want you to end up a frazzled mess. You need breaks or you're goin' to burn out. You're allowed to have time for yourself."

Her fingers twitched against his chest. "Okay." She said warily.

He smiled. "Ozma, Kid, you make it sound like I asked you to endorse torture instead of off time."

She sent him a rueful glance. "Apparently I'm a workaholic."

He chuckled at the strange word. "A fittin' description of you if I ever heard one."

She wrinkled her nose at him and he kissed it gently. He didn't have a chance to say anything else. Someone knocked on his outer door. Cursing, he kissed her quickly and then got out of bed. Deeg sat up holding the blanket against her as he grabbed his pants off the floor and stepped into them. He forced his arms through his shirtsleeves as he headed to the door. He paused just long enough to grab his gun on the way out. "Stay there, Darlin'. I'll be back in a minute."

He saw her nod as he stepped into his living room. He shut the bedroom door firmly and weaved past his furniture. Glaring in annoyance he opened it. Glitch was standing on the other side of it looking worn. "You're back."

"With news." He answered tiredly. "We're having a meeting in fifteen minutes in the parlor."

"Which one?"

"The one in the family wing."

He nodded. "Let me go get cleaned up. Is it bad?"

The headcase sighed and shrugged. "I'm not sure how bad, but yes."

He nodded sharply. "We'll talk when I get there."

"Az went to get the her parents and sister. I'll go find Raw. Jeb's already up." With that he turned and walked down the hall. Shutting the door he took a moment to appreciate the last minute or so of peace he would have. This wasn't the way he wanted to start the day with his girl. He'd wanted to have breakfast with her and then take her back to bed for a few hours until he knew one of them would be missed. As he headed back to his bed he knew this was yet another one of those things that he simply wasn't going to get to have.

Author Note: Apparently being out of school does not mean I have more free time. This is clearly a lie that was told to me to get me through. Really sorry about the wait on this. I'm doing my darndest to get these out. I'll try to speed up my time for you guys. Have a good one!


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: Tin Man = Not Mine

She was less than happy about the timing of this meeting. She knew it was a selfish way to feel with all the lunatics out in the O.Z. And with someone out there targeting her and Az, but this was ridiculous. She wasn't supposed to be dragged out of bed in the middle of the night. Not on their first night. They were supposed to spend that exploring each other and then wake up tangled together. They were supposed to make love before dragging themselves out of bed to hunt for breakfast. That was how it was supposed to work.

Instead she was holed up in the parlor with her family and friends, her clothes were clinging to her because she hadn't had enough time to dry off after her ten second bath she'd managed after teleporting to her new suite, and Wyatt was across the room. He wasn't even close enough to sneak a touch. She was tired, frazzled, and set in a fit of impatient grumpiness. She wasn't even going to pretend she wasn't. Still, she knew this was important and really didn't want to get attacked again. She wasn't sure her luck would hold out on a third surprise attack. They needed to work this out as quickly as possible and she needed to shove her juvenile urge to throw a tantrum under the metaphorical bus.

While she wrestled with her feelings she watched everyone else. Jeb was rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as Wyatt stood next to him with his arms crossed over his chest. The tin man was alert but she could tell he was about in the same mood she was at the moment. He was rumpled too, it wasn't often she saw him less than completely put together. Fifteen minutes to throw on clothes would usually be enough time for him but he had wasted some of those few minutes getting her out of his room. He had been apologetic despite her total understanding of the situation and when she kissed him to assure him she wasn't angry they may have gotten, well… thrown off track for a few minutes.

Next to the Cain men her father was standing behind the chair her mother was sitting in with his hand resting on her shoulder. Raw was close to her and yawning awake as he scanned the room passively. The viewer had most of his attention on Glitch and her sister for about two minutes. She was sure he was trying to determine how much courage he needed to gather up to deal with this. Then he turned his head toward Wyatt and blinked. How he felt it on the tin man before her was a mystery since they were so close together. Chocolate eyes shot to her as all the sleep vanished from him in an instant. Torn between embarrassment and immense satisfaction she pretended to be totally absorbed in one of her fingernails so she wouldn't have to look the viewer in the eye.

Glitch saved her the trouble of worrying about the state of her cuticles by sitting on a chair and riffling through an old box full of papers and viewing disks. She spotted a stain on the side of it that looked alarmingly like dried blood and she wrinkled her nose up at it. She didn't even want to know where they'd dug this thing up from. She would most likely have nightmares for a week. That or get sick to her stomach. Some things were better left a mystery in her opinion.

"We think we know who's doing this." Glitch jumped right to the main point. She couldn't express how much she appreciated that at the moment.

"Excellent." Jeb said as he propped his head on his fist. "Who is it? I'll go get them."

From the way he said that she didn't think 'get them' meant find them and throw them in prison. It really came out more hostile than that. It was nice that some things, like Jeb's straightforward attacking tendencies, never changed. The advisor shook his head. "I don't think it's going to be that easy. He knows where to hide and who to hide with."

"What's that mean?" Ahamo asked.

Her sister glanced at their parents. "Only a few people knew where all the suites were. Maybe ten. The witch, her generals, and a few aides."

Her mind began to move busily despite a lack of caffeine and about two hours of sleep. "That takes it down to what? Three people? The witch and four of her generals are dead. There are three in custody." She shook her head. If any of the remaining generals were responsible for this then so was she. She had taken precautions to prevent something like this from happening. If they were passing information she had missed something major. She could blame herself for this later. They needed to take care of the informant. At least they already worked out who it was. Saved her a lot of trouble. "Which one is the one leaking information?"

"None of them." Glitch said.

Wyatt raised an eyebrow. "It was one of the aides then." He rolled his neck. "Makes sense. Some of them would know more than the generals would. At least a good one with brains. Aides have to know everything or they don't last." The tin man proved that. How many had he gotten rid of? Two dozen? She couldn't remember exactly. It didn't really matter.

Ahamo sighed. "Which is how they knew how to get through the maze and the palace security."

Wyatt nodded in agreement. "We may have changed a few things but you can only alter security around this place so much. It would be hard, but not impossible for someone that knows where the open points are."

"Especially if you sent a crazed mage through." Jeb continued. "And he didn't attack either of the princesses when we were in Finaqua." The young man looked at the queen. "Could he have opened the maze for those other men somehow?"

Her mother thought about that for a few moment. "It is a possibility. If his magic was tuned properly a mage with an average amount of magic might be able to hold the maze still for a few minutes. I'm not sure if that would be long enough for anyone to get through."

"It would if they knew the right way." Wyatt pointed out. "The first time we went through it didn't take us more than four or five minutes to run it."

"And the aide would know how to do that too." She sighed. "All right, mystery solved in that department. So who is it?"

"Vy-Sor." Az responded as she chaffed her hands together. "He was the witch's personal aide."

Her forehead crinkled. "The one that stood on the side and watched everything? With the oddly detached sideburns? I don't even know what that hair statement was about."

Wyatt flashed her a bemused smile. "I suppose." Az said before she continued on. "He knew nearly as much as the witch did. She trusted him and she didn't trust anyone. She even gave him the emerald for a few hours so he would set it in the necklace for her. He was very loyal. I assumed he'd died in the attack on the Tower but he must have escaped out of one of the hidden passages that lead into the woods."

"Fantastic." Jeb muttered. "A sneaky, smart, trained soldier on the loose and intent on revenge. No wonder he's after them." He waved toward her and her sister. "They melted his sovereign."

"Hey, we weren't trying to melt her." She sniffed. She felt some humor was needed at the moment. Everyone was getting way too worked up. "I would have preferred if she'd remained a solid. She ruined my shoes. I had to burn them. There's no stain remover to get witch out."

Wyatt shook his head as his lips twitched and Ahamo snorted out a laugh. Jeb was watching her with amused eyes and her mother seemed resigned to dealing with her rather warped sense of humor. "Be that as it may-" Lavender broke in, "-we now have to determine how to find this man."

"Plus all the crazies he let loose." She added. That was really a sticking point for her. She could protect herself and her sister if she needed too. She knew that from rather unwanted life experience. A lot of people out in the O.Z. couldn't boast the same thing.

"Yes."

Jeb straightened up and began to tap his foot as he thought. "I don't think many would follow him to be honest. The resistance fighters that were trapped wouldn't listen or try to kill him once they figured out who he was and what he wanted. The prisoners would just try to kill him because they could. With the obvious exception of the delusional ones who might do anything he wanted." Like the psycho that jumped her. Right.

"I thought of that." Glitch was nodding as he opened a map over the round coffee table between them. "He would know that too wouldn't he?"

They all leaned forward to see the frayed and ripped paper. There were marks all over the map of the Outer Zone. Wyatt's eyes darted up to Glitch. "You found where they all are?"

"Yes, it took Azkadilla nearly five hours to break down the enchanment that was around the safe these were in. We found other things we've been looking for as well but this was the most important."

"Why didn't you go get these before?" Jeb asked with more than a hint of frustration.

Az wilted a bit. "I didn't know they were there. I didn't even know about the safe. We stumbled on it by accident. If I'd known…"

She went to her sister's defense. "She has gaps in her memory, Jeb. You know that. It isn't her fault."

"No." He agreed. "I'm sorry, princess, I didn't mean to accuse you of keeping this a secret."

"It's okay. We're all tired." Az said. Her sister and Jeb tended to get along. For some reason they had developed an easy friendship. Azkadilla must know Jeb was only reacting like this because of the stress of the situation. She moved on quickly. "We think he may be releasing the criminals to cause havoc while he gets some sort of plan together."

"He wants us distracted." Cain nodded in agreement. "Should have thought that out a bit better than he did but alright. You don't send anyone unstable after a target. That was messy. At any rate the criminals are now loose and you're thinkin' our fighters are still locked up."

"Exactly." Glitch started pointing at the different markings. "Cain, DG and I found you here." He pointed to a small lake and the tin man pressed his lips together and nodded sharply. "I take that to mean that resistance fighters that are trapped are marked with blue. The others are marked with yellow."

Jeb leaned in and pointed. "You're right. I was trapped in this suite for about a week." He tapped a blue dot next to the gap they'd crossed. Then he pointed to another dot in the center of a forest. "And we pulled out a colonel from the old Ozian army about five annuals ago here. They're both blue."

Wyatt bent down and indicated the dot where they had released this colonel. "That's helpful to an extent, but this map is so vague this dot covers about five square miles. Even of we know where the dot is, assuming it's right on the center, it could take us days to locate a suite. Especially if they've been out there for more than a few annuals. Plants grow up around 'em."

Despite this she was feeling really optimistic. "We should send out patrols to get them. Even if it takes them a couple of days we could have all these people out in a week or two." She counted the dots quickly. "That's eighteen people." She figured that all the other men had been let out already. So there were about twenty of them running around causing who knew what kind of trouble.

"That's where we run into a problem."

She shook her head. Of course there was going to be a problem. Heaven forbid anything be easy for them. "What problem?" Ahamo asked.

"The spells."

"What spells?" Cain asked. "Deeg broke the spell keepin' these things shut."

"She did break the binding spell. I was referring to the other spells."

"What other spells?" She asked in confusion.

Glitch looked up at her. "Well the T.D.E.S.P.H.T.L.'s for one. Who knows what else is out there around the suites. With a mage Vy-Sor most likely took out all the obstacles around the criminals. He wouldn't have done that to the others since he had no interest in releasing them. I think-"

"Woah, hold on and rewind." She cut him off. "The T.D.E.V.B.-

Glitch cut her off this time. "T.D.E.S.P.H.T.L."

She rolled her eyes. "You need to have shorter acronyms for your inventions."

"But then they wouldn't thoroughly explain what they do-"

She cut him off again. "Okay! Fine! Long is good too. You made that thing. It wasn't a spell. It was a mechanical projection."

"I don't understand your notion of separating the mechanical from the magical. It seems to be a thought you keep getting stuck on. Do you think being raised on the Otherside has anything to do with that?" He asked her curiously.

She ignored that last part completely. Now was not the time to hypothesize. "You're telling me that device operates on magic?"

"Of course. It wouldn't work otherwise."

"So I short circuited it?"

"Yes, no doubt when you ran at it, and the men you thought were there, your emotional state heightened to the point the machine simply couldn't contain all the magic you were letting off. We wouldn't have found Cain otherwise. We never would have seen him past the memory that was being projected. It was like a camouflage."

She could tell this conversation wasn't making the tin man all that happy but he wasn't flipping out the way he had been yesterday when this topic came up. Maybe it was because he was prepared to talk about it since that was why Glitch had woken him up to begin with. Hopefully, he wouldn't have another out burst. Ahamo shifted slightly as he stared down at the map. "I can tell you have some sort of plan, Ambrose. What is it?"

"The only real way to get these people out safely is to have a mage go out and get them."

Her mother shot her advisor a look. "There are very few mages that are at our disposal right now. Many of them are either in hiding or don't have enough to do what you will be asking them to do. Even Tutor wouldn't be able to handle a spell with the kind of magnitude your T.D.E.S.P.H.T.L. would have to take in before it shut down." She briefly disliked her mother for saying that so quickly and so easily when she couldn't but let it go as she continued. "In point of fact there are only two mages that I know of that could break such an incantation."

"DG and I." Her sister said.

"No." Cain's voice was unwavering. "You are not sendin' them out into the wilderness when someone is tryin' to get them killed. Not to mention the psychotically disturbed men and women that he let loose are just frolickin' about. That's insanity. He'll know the princesses are gone as soon as they disappear. He'll be after them like a papay on a scent. It'll just have to wait until we stop the attacks."

She gnawed on her lip. As much as she wanted these people out she could see his point. "I agree." That caught everyone by surprise including Cain. He was watching her as if she had smacked him or something. "I'm not always crazy impulsive." She tried to defend herself.

Raw huffed in disbelief and she glared at him. "DG as restrained as rabid dog." He muttered teasingly.

"That was hurtful." She stuck her tongue out at him before going serious. "Wyatt's right. Everyone would know we were gone and Vy-Sor will know why. He probably has spies watching us. If he's any kind of competent he already knows Glitch and Az made a run to the Tower. Anyone can put that together. The realm can't risk either of us getting killed. If Az dies I become the heir apparent, and lets face it, that means we're screwed. I can't run the country. I don't have the experience and I suck at restraint. I'd probably make the whole O.Z. explode or something."

Wyatt was trying not to laugh at her assessment as Az opened her mouth. "How would you make the country explode?"

"I'd find a way I'm sure." Az shot her a skeptical look and she went on. "If I die the whole political structure we've been putting together crumbles. We'd fall headlong into civil war again. The countries around us are waiting for that. They were terrified of the witch. I'm not sure their fear extends to Az right at this moment. No offense."

"I'm hardly offended."

"At any rate, they'd move in while we imploded from the inside. Explode one way, implode the other. They'll have to stay in the suites as much as I hate to say that." There was a brief silence as everyone stared at the map. She knew no one was happy about this.

To her surprise it was Wyatt that spoke. And he got personal fast. "The suites are hell." People glanced up. He didn't talk about his past. Ever. Not with anyone but her and maybe Jeb. Even that was rare. "I won't deny that. But gettin' out and findin' that your family that made it through the war got washed away in somethin' that we could prevent would be worse. If it were me I'd rather stay in another ten annuals than come out and find that everything I risked and suffered through didn't mean a damn thing. We'll find Vy-Sor as fast as we can and then the girls can go out. _With protection_." He emphasized. "But until then the suites stay where they are. Sometimes patience is necessary to survival. We have to think of the whole country instead of eighteen people. The princesses are more important to the future of the O.Z. than anything else. We can't loose them. They're the one thing we can't replace."

Jeb stood up. "I agree too. We need to have copies of this map made right now. We can't chance it getting destroyed. I'll let my contacts know about Vy-Sor and see if any of them know about any mages that might be in hiding. We could use help. If we can find any, and Raw can read them to be sure they can be trusted, we can send them out instead."

"Okay." Ahamo said. "Ambrose, I'll make some copies of that. I've always had a knack for drawing." _No._ She nearly rolled her eyes again. Ahamo's art made her's look like children's stick figures. He was flat out amazing. She'd never seen anyone paint the way he did. "I think the rest of you should go back to bed. It's four in the morning. We can discuss this further in the morning."

She stood up immediately, ignoring the slight ache between her legs. That was the best thing she'd heard since the knock on the door. She would be more than happy to jump Wyatt the moment they got behind a closed door. Beside her Raw let out a chuckle as her relief and enthusiasm rose up. He hid it behind his paw. He turned it into a cough quickly and she eyed him warningly. There was no way to hide what was happening from an empath. That didn't mean he had to let everyone else know. "Raw must be coming down with cold." He said as he stood up. "Should go back to bed. Rest helps, yes?"

"Usually." She answered as neutrally as possible.

Glitch helped her sister to her feet. "Sleep will be good for all of us. Whirlwind travel isn't for me."

She huffed as they headed to the door. "You should try tornado travel. That's a trip."

"I'll take your word for it, Doll." He headed toward the stairs. "I'll see you all tomorrow."

She and Az chorused a goodnight and then her sister hooked her arm in hers. She and Az had rooms on the same floor. She shot the tin man a single look and he nodded almost imperceptibly. She would have to teleport to him after she was locked in her room. Leaning into her sister they headed for another set of stairs. For the moment she contended herself with some sisterly bonding. She would be back with Wyatt soon.

Author Note: Leave me a review to make my day special!


	18. Chapter 18

Tin Man: Sadly, Tin Man doesn't belong to me. (Insert dramatic sigh)

She let out a shout of gratification as the tin man gripped her hips hard. They swayed together for a perfect moment of bliss before Wyatt fell back on the bed and dragged her with him. She collapsed over him in a sweaty heap and he laughed breathlessly between gasps. Smiling, she started to kiss her way from his shoulder to his jaw. She could hear his heart beating hard in his cheat as his hand tangled in her hair. "You're goin' to wear me down to nothin' if we keep this up, Kid."

She hummed and nipped at the side of his neck. "I guess when that happens I'll have to go find a new general." She kissed the base of his jaw. "Next time I'll get a good looking one."

He growled good-naturedly and rolled them so she was below him. "Rotten."

She giggled as he kissed her anywhere he could reach. She felt his whiskers hitting her neck and face. "You need to shave!" She pushed at him half-heartedly. "You're going to rub my skin raw!"

"Always complainin'." He teased her.

"That's me. Big complainer." She caught his face and kissed him as she rubbed his face. He had a layer of stubble on his chin and cheeks. He usually shaved in the morning but they'd been so busy the last four days that he'd missed that part of his usual routine. That should really say something about the state of things. If Mr. Clean Cut was off his game then things were bad.

She was starting to suspect, after nearly a week of staying with him in his room, that he might just organize his sock drawer by how old his socks were. This was only a suspicion of course, but she wouldn't be surprised. Cain was a neat freak if she ever met one. She was sure the possessions she'd brought in here with her were driving him crazy just lying about, but he hadn't said anything about it. He simply surreptitiously moved them when she wasn't there. She decided to follow the silent cues and made sure her things went back where he'd placed them when she was done using them.

His scruff rubbed over her palm and she patted his cheek. She was sure he would have taken care of that when he got back to his room later in the afternoon but she had jumped him. She'd been waiting for him to come back. She and Ahamo had been going over plans for a new hospital but had finished as much as they could alone earlier than she had anticipated. Since no one else working on the project had expected her back most of them had scattered until the next day. So she'd gone to his rooms after she cleaned up. He had been more than happy to have her leap at him after he closed the door.

He kissed her soundly and sat up. She laid back as he stepped into his pants and headed toward the bathroom. She relaxed into the blankets as the water turned on. He was sweet and considerate, but she already knew that. She knew when he came back his slight stubble would all be gone. Stretching out she grabbed the sleeve of his shirt; it had somehow managed to cling to the edge of the bed through the last hour or so, and dragged it to her. Pulling it on she buttoned up the front before flopping back down on the bed.

When Wyatt came back in his eyes swept over her as he moved forward. She saw him trace her from her now mussed hair, down his shirt that was draped over her body, across her exposed legs, and down to her toes. "You make a pretty picture, Darlin'."

She smiled seductively up at him. Raising her hand she rolled to her side and let her legs fall in what she hoped was an attractive manner. "Come back to bed."

He came to her without a fight and laid out beside her. She kissed him and he sighed into her mouth as he pulled her against his chest. Tucking her hair behind her ear he sent her a soft smile. "You're a temptation if I ever met one."

"I try." She grinned at him. She settled her head on the pillow. "Tell me about your day."

"Not much to tell. Ran myself in circles trying to keep things goin' while Jeb's busy. Don't know what to tell you about office work."

She could sympathize with paperwork. "You have a very capable and somewhat scary son, Wyatt Cain. I certainly wouldn't want to be the one he was after."

"Me neither. I'm not nearly clever enough to get away from him."

She tried not to laugh. "You'd give him a run for his money. You have him on experience, although he has youthful persistence, and you're pretty much tied on stubbornness. I firmly believe that was a genetic trait you passed down to him." She sent him a thoughtful look. "You know, I'd like to see this play out. Cain versus Cain."

"I bet you would." He shook his head. "It'd play out like one of those picture stories you keep babblin' on about."

She sighed a little regretfully. "It would make a great movie. I wish you could see one. I'd like to go out to the movies with you. I think you would like it."

He touched the tip of her nose with his index finger. "Can't have everything. We'll have to stick to star gazin'."

"That's more fun when we can see the stars." She wiggled so she was comfortable again. "I like the city but you can't see the sky at night with all the lights."

She saw him thinking about something as he sat up. "We'll find somethin' to do."

Recognizing what was going on in his head she kissed him again. "It's not a big deal." Tossing her leg over his waist she flipped them so she was on top of him. "I'm sure you can keep me fully occupied right here. You're much more fun than a movie."

He huffed out a laugh and rubbed his hand over her back. "Good to hear." Holding her to him he sat up and leaned back against the headboard. She kissed him again and he hummed into her mouth. His arms wrapped around her waist loosely and she felt the mood shift to something much more relaxed. This was something Wyatt liked to do. If it were up to her they would be rolling around the bed every minute they had together. The tin man had other ideas. He would let her lead them to begin with before defusing her for a little while. Then she would win out again. It was like they were riding waves out in the ocean. Or so she imagined.

At first she didn't understand what he was doing. She had her mind set on being with him and to her that meant showing it the way she knew how. It probably didn't help that she had never been in an actual relationship before. She skipped over the entire lead up to the bedroom. Cain was interested in pulling them back to that point. She didn't mind. It was nice being held, and cuddled, and generally made to feel like she was wonderful. She thought Wyatt liked it too.

Kissing her nose he felt her surrender to his pace and smiled happily at her. Pulling her over his legs he settled her where he wanted and ran his hand up past her ear and through her hair. She leaned into him contentedly. "Have you eaten yet?" He asked.

"No."

"Do you want to have dinner in here or with everyone else today?"

She shrugged. "Whatever you want to do is fine." She wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "As long as those pants come off again at some point."

He barked out a laugh. "You are the sassiest woman I've ever met in my life."

She grinned at the compliment. She thought getting out of the room for about an hour and socializing might not be the worst idea ever. Everyone was wound up and she was the best un-winder in the group. When Raw was with her they could generally take out all the anxiety in the immediate vicinity. "Good. Why don't we-"

Her plan was utterly derailed by a pounding knock on the door. They both looked around as the knock went off again. "Dad!"

She scrambled off Wyatt and he got up quickly. Snatching a shirt out of the closet he threw it on and headed toward the main room. He shut the bedroom door quickly and she was left alone. She was heading toward her own clothes when she heard Wyatt snap. "What the hell happened to you?"

"I got jumped!" Jeb snarled angrily. She winced. That wasn't good but at least he was alive and well. Well enough to be yelling at any rate. If he wasn't he wouldn't be out there throwing a fit. He'd be dead or with a healer.

"By who?"

She jumped into her pants as quietly as possible as she listened. She only felt mildly bad about eavesdropping. "I have no idea! I shot him!" Jeb was moving around angrily. She heard thumping. "The tin men are looking into it!" She'd never heard Jeb in a rage before. But when he continued she knew why he was in one. "He was in Olivia's apartment! He could have killed her! He could have killed Sam! It was only luck I went in before either of them!"

Exchanging shirts she continued to listen as Cain asked questions. "Are they all right?" His voice was sharp.

"Yes! Sam's half scared out of his wits though!"

"Where are they?"

"My rooms getting cleaned up!" Jeb was just ranting now. "I can't believe this! I picked out that apartment for her myself! I made sure it was in a safe neighborhood! I made sure she had good locks! I met all the people living in the complex! I made sure it was on a route that the tin men frequent! I had Tutor cast wards on the damn place!"

"Son-"

"They were supposed to be safe there!" She gnawed on her lip as she pulled on her boots. Her anxiety was rising listening to him.

Wyatt cut in. "They are safe." His voice was calm in contrast to Jeb's. "They're in your rooms right now. They didn't get hurt."

"They could have!" His son shouted.

"But you didn't let that happen. You did right by your family. You need to calm down."

"I don't want to calm down!" His voice hadn't lowered in the slightest. The walls were shaking from the force of it. She realized she needed to get out of here. Jeb wouldn't like the idea of her listening to any of this. She needed to get her things, paperwork from her meeting, out of the living room but she'd have to come back for it later.

"You aren't goin' to make anything better by shoutin'. You need to go back to them and keep them company while you all get settled. I'll have rooms set up for them. They can stay here as long as they want. It's safer-"

She teleported back to her room as Cain tried to sooth Jeb. He'd work out why she left and come find her later. When she was there her eyes swept over the area to be sure it was safe. She'd been downright paranoid about that since she'd been attacked in her old room. She still hadn't gone back in there and she wasn't planning to either. She didn't want to have to look at the wall and carpet and see a bloodstain. She had limits and sleeping in there again was one of them.

When she was sure it was safe she quickly got cleaned up and dressed. Her mind was whirling. She needed to get to her office. She braided her hair quickly then exited her room. She nodded to the guards on duty, who she could tell had simply given up trying to figure out how she kept appearing at random, and nodded politely in return.

Going up several stories and down a separate wing she took her key out of her pocket and unlocked the door. Then she took down the wards she had set up around the office and walked in. Once again her eyes swept the room and she figured she understood why Wyatt was always so alert. Maybe she should see if he would teach her any tricks about it. She was sure there were some. With that thought she attacked her filing cabinets. She had a pile of paperwork on her desk in under five minutes.

They were everything Glitch and Az had found in the tower and all the information she had gathered from the names they'd gotten. She'd searched palace records, which hadn't given her much of anything, then moved on. She'd stopped by the police station… or tin man barracks, and scared the hell out of the captain there. If she hadn't been so startled by the reaction of everyone in the building she would have laughed. She also would have left Franks at the palace and saved him the walk. Cain would have been furious over a stunt like that though so she'd dragged the man along. At least he was good company.

The whole thing was her fault really. She should have sent a messenger ahead, or maybe worn something more royal than a plain green dress. She hadn't wanted to draw attention to herself on the walk there but she hadn't anticipated the shock she would give the poor men working in the station. She'd been waiting patiently in line for ten minutes as she read over the few bits of information she'd gathered. Her guard found this beyond baffling and tried to get her to simply cut in front of the woman in front of them. She told him quietly but firmly that they could wait for their turn. The woman had gotten here first after all.

Franks, who she'd insisted wear his street clothes, shook his head but kept his mouth shut at what she was sure he interpreted as an order instead of simple reasoning on her part. She really needed to break this man in better or she wouldn't be able to take him anywhere. Her parents had been pressuring her to get a bodyguard for months and after getting attacked twice she was seeing the logic behind that. Franks wasn't aware he was being interviewed at the moment. She wanted to see how he acted in a real world basis without him being nervous or feel like he was on the spot. So she let him think he was randomly chosen and gone about her business.

When the woman in front of them was done, apparently someone had stiffed her on a bill at her business, she stepped forward. The man at the counter was in his fifties and had a scar across his temple. It was partially cover by his salt and pepper hair but still noticeable. He had a silver star on his chest and a holster nearly identical to the one Wyatt wore. She wondered if they were standard issue or simply the style of choice. She relaxed at his body language and calm blue eyes. "Good afternoon, Miss. What can I do for you?"

She smiled politely back. "I need to speak to your captain or lieutenant on duty if he isn't here please."

He went on alert. "May I ask why?"

"Yes, I need information on a few people that were detained by the witch. I was hopping you would have some files on them somewhere, or know who might."

"All due respect I can't give you that information."

Franks shifted behind her. She could tell he was watching to see what she would do. She was testing things as much as coming for information. She wanted to know how effective her work was and if it was being implemented. "Why?"

"A new law was passed. Unless you have proper authorization those files are sealed. It isn't safe for anyone to give it out." She could tell he was trying to be patient with her. It probably helped that she was now the only one in line. "Someone might get killed by someone on a vendetta."

"I assure you I have authorization. May I speak to your captain?"

"Not unless I can see that authorization. Protocols."

She smiled at him. "Yes, I'm aware of the protocols. I wrote them."

"You-" She knew not everyone knew what she looked like. Lifting her hand she let her magic flare white briefly. The man's mouth shut with a snap and he took a step back from the counter. Franks went stiff as his hand went to his waist but the tin man had only moved so he could bow to her without smashing his forehead into the table. "Your highness, I sincerely apologize."

"I don't see any reason for you to apologize for doing your job, Mr…?"

"Dean Carson."

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Carson. While I have you here could I ask if any of the protocols you've been following are unhelpful, redundant, or otherwise keep you from doing your job efficiently or effectively? I'm afraid I don't have much experience with law enforcement, and while my advisors are very capable I really would appreciate an outside opinion or two."

The poor man was trying to gather himself quickly in this totally unexpected situation. She could tell her attitude and utter civility were throwing him even further off track. She waited patiently with her wide innocent eyes, which she'd learned to use to great effect, for him to catch himself. He was so shocked he blurted out an answer. "The clause on consulting a mage to go in with us on a raid is a pain in the ass." Her lips twitched like mad as he realized what he said. "Pardon me, Princess."

She stopped him before he could excuse himself for his language any more. "May I ask why?"

She could tell Franks was about ready to hit his head against the nearest wall out of either frustration or shock. "They're aren't enough to go around. It keeps us from hitting all the places we need to hit at the pace we need to hit them. In my experience it might be helpful to have a mage with us in case of a magical object but we hardly ever find any. Even when we do they aren't much of a threat. It isn't real hard for any of us to spot something with magic either."

"That is a pain in the ass." He blinked and then he started to smile. "I'll see what I can do about that."

"Thank you. If you'll come with me I'll take you to the back. That's where we keep all the records we have."

She nodded and walked toward the small, waist high door in the counter. Franks leapt forward and opened it for her and she thanked him as she stepped through. Her trek through the department was first tracked with suspicion and then downright awe as she was recognized. The tin men sitting at desks leapt to their feet and the ones standing around went stiff and bowed as she passed. She smiled at them and continued on her way.

Ten minutes later and the stunned and eager to please captain had greeted them and escorted them to the record room. She looked about and sighed. This part of the building was as big as the large bullpen they'd traveled through. This was going to take awhile. They were offered help but she waved the man away telling him he had his own job to do. Enlisting Franks, who seemed less than thrilled to be helping but didn't complain, they began to search.

Eight hours later and they had found all the files on the list of twenty-two people she had. They stepped out covered in dust and smelling like old paper. She promised the captain she would have the files back to him in a few weeks and took the lot of them, leaving a barrack full of bemused and impressed tin men in her wake. She had the feeling none of them were expecting her to work. She also knew none of them expected a royal to show up to do a job she could have sent someone else to do.

Since then she'd been going through the papers with meticulous care. Most of the reports were unsettling. The rest were down right disturbing. She was disgusted that people could do the things she was reading about to other people. She was also glad that most of the reports had been written by detail-oriented people. She realized that without cameras descriptions had to be detailed. She appreciated that since she was making composite sketches of all the men from what she was getting out of the reports. The eighth one she did she recognized. It was the mage that had attacked her. She'd written his name underneath followed by a brief paragraph about where he'd been found and how he'd died. If anything happened to her she wanted the person hunting these people down to know everything she knew.

Glancing at the pile of paperwork on her desk she took out the sketchpad she'd been using and tucked it under her arm. She had a sinking feeling that Jeb was going to identify one of the men in here as the man that had been waiting in Olivia's apartment.

Author Note: I would love a review from you! Please?


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: Still not mine.

Buttoning his shirt up quickly he shut Deeg in his room. He could tell Jeb was angry over something and the last thing he wanted was to further exacerbate whatever was going on. He wasn't real sure how his son would take his new relationship with the kid. He hadn't wanted to mention anything to him until he was sure he and Deeg were at a stable place and this particular crisis was behind them. He was sure they were stable, and getting more so by the day considering her attitude toward him over the last week, but they were still hunting Vy-sor. He could only handle so much emotional turmoil at once. At the moment he would rather just let this sit.

Figuring Jeb had bad news he wasn't fully prepared to come find him standing in his door with a large bruise across his jaw and a badly bleeding eyebrow. His shirt was torn raggedly down the side and he could see his arm was bleeding as badly as his head. His worry took over and he started snapping. "What the hell happened to you?"

"I got jumped!" His son was in a fit of rage the likes of which he had never seen. Not from Jeb at any rate. His son was too in control to let anyone know he was more than irritated. And he only let that out when he wanted someone to know. As much as he hated this he had a strange flash of relief that his son was letting him see something other than an emotionless mask. He was even more grateful Jeb had come looking for him to blow off steam.

He got straight to the point. "By who?"

"I have no idea! I shot him!" Jeb shouted as he slammed the door shut behind him and kicked at a nearby chair. "The tin men are looking into it! He was in Olivia's apartment! He could have killed her! He could have killed Sam! It was only luck I went in before either of them!"

Fear ran through him. That was an eerily similar situation to the one Jeb had found himself in when he was a boy. "Are they all right?" His voice was sharp.

"Yes! Sam's half scared out of his wits though!" He relaxed as much as he could given the situation. He didn't like to see Jeb hurt in the slightest, but if all he walked away with were a few cuts and bruises that was about as good as they could hope for.

Still, he could tell he wasn't thinking straight yet. He asked the next important question. "Where are they?"

"My rooms getting cleaned up!" Jeb continued to rage as he moved erratically around the room. "I can't believe this! I picked out that apartment for her myself! I made sure it was in a safe neighborhood! I made sure she had good locks! I met all the people living in the complex! I made sure it was on a route that the tin men frequent! I had Tutor cast wards on the damn place!"

"Son-" He needed to get him calmed down. He realized he needed to vent but he also needed to control himself before going back to Sam and Olivia. All this attitude would accomplish was to get them more upset. He was sure the young mid-wife and her nephew had enough of a scare today.

"They were supposed to be safe there!"

He cut him off. "They are safe." His voice was calm in contrast to Jeb's. "They're in your rooms right now. They didn't get hurt."

"They could have!" His son shouted.

"But you didn't let that happen. You did right by your family. You need to calm down."

"I don't want to calm down!" He yelled that even louder. He felt a brief flash of amusement at that response. For an instant he flashed back to when his son was five and thrown a tantrum over having to take a bath after he'd come in coated from head to toe in mud. Where he'd found that much mud in the city was up in the air but he figured boys simply attracted the substance by existing.

He decided this situation shouldn't be approached the way Adora had approached him then. By grabbing the back of his collar and tossing him unceremoniously in the bath he refused to take. His wife had always had a rather practical approach to childcare. If his son said no to something and you could move him, that was a yes. Nine years and Jeb had never once won out against her by digging his heels in. This might require a bit more tact.

"You aren't goin' to make anything better by shoutin'. You need to go back to them and keep them company while you all get settled. I'll have rooms set up for them. They can stay here as long as they want. I'll make sure of that. It's safer here than in the city."

"Safer? _Safer!_ DG got attacked in her room less than a week ago! She's the god damned hero princess of salvation and glory!" He raised his eyebrow as Jeb stalked about shouting. "She has twenty-seven guards around her at any given moment! She has spells around her room that could burn the fur off a cat if it brushed up against them!"

"That's an interestin' mental picture."

"This isn't funny!" Jeb snarled as he stopped in front of him. His fists were clenched at his sides and he could tell his son was seconds away from taking a swing at him.

He raised his hands in surrender in an effort to soothe him. "I know it's not. I'm sorry, son. I didn't mean to make light of what happened." Jeb simply let out a wordless sound of rage as he nodded in acceptance. "Alright, have you gotten this out of your system or do you need to yell some more?"

"I'm angry!" He shouted.

"I know."

"I promised Olivia I would keep her safe!"

"You did keep her safe. She's four doors down, right as rain."

"I didn't want her dealing with this anymore! We grew up getting attacked! That's enough! And Sam's so young he can't remember what it was like! He shouldn't have to know!"

"You're right." Jeb was far too right about this. "It isn't right and it isn't fair. But life rarely is. You did everything right. That doesn't mean everything will go right. What matters is that you're all alive and together. At least you will be once you stop shoutin' and let me look at you."

Jeb's fists balled up tightly as he shut his eyes. He sucked in a deep breath and nodded. When he spoke his voice was at a normal level even if there was still a bite to it. "Fine."

"Okay, let me grab my med kit and get you cleaned up. We can find Raw a little later. I know he's in the city until late tonight. He was takin' Kalm to meet some other viewers that were passin' through."

Jeb nodded and sat down on the sofa with a thump. Turning around he went back onto his room, doing his best not to look like he was trying to hide something as he slipped through the door and shut it behind him. His eyes flew over the area and he saw that Deeg had vanished. She must have taken off when the yelling started. Some of her clothes were scattered about his floor along with his shirt. Deeg had somehow missed her socks and panties before she left. Grabbing them all quickly he threw them in his hamper on the way to the bathroom.

He knew she must have been in a rush to get out of here because she left a mess. He hadn't failed to notice that the kid had been putting in extra effort to keep his room the way he liked it. When he moved something she left here he noticed it was always in the same spot he decided it should go no matter how many times she might use it. He appreciated the consideration. He knew he was meticulous and organized and that she was looser in her living environment. That she would go out of her way to keep him comfortable said a lot about how she felt about him.

Moving quickly he rummaged around in his bathroom and grabbed his med kit. He was back out with Jeb a few seconds later. Setting the supplies on the table he opened the metal case and pulled out some disinfectant. Jeb was shrugging out of his shirt so he could bandage his arm. He could see in the short time he'd been away Jeb had regained considerable control. "Sorry I lost my temper."

"Better you lost it with me than someone else." He started to dab at the cut on Jeb's head first. It wasn't that bad but it was bleeding something awful. Head wounds always did. "You don't need to be sorry."

"Yeah well…" He trailed off and he wasn't sure where Jeb was heading with that thought. He didn't push though. He just let the boy be as he did his best to patch him up. It wasn't that hard. He'd had plenty of practice with basic first aid over the years. Even ten years in an iron maiden couldn't erase the knowledge. It was ingrained in him.

Attaching a bandage to his head neatly he moved onto his arm. He inspected it critically. "He have a knife?"

"Some kind of one." Jeb rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I didn't pay much attention to be honest. I didn't even know he slashed me until we were halfway back here and Olivia told me I was bleeding. He came at me and we fought. We tore up the place and then I threw him off long enough to shoot him."

That nagged at him. "Was it a dirk?" He questioned as he made sure the wound was clean.

There was a pause as Jeb thought it over. "Now that you mention it I think it was. It had some sort of engraving in it."

He shook his head as he started to wrap Jeb's arm neatly. "Is it at the barracks?"

"I guess it must be. They were gathering up everything when I left. Why?"

"At Finaqua when the girls were attacked Deeg said she thought one of the men had a dirk. She said it had inlaid metal in it."

Jeb eyed him with disbelief. "Azkadilla said it all happened in about three seconds."

"I would bet less than that after what the kid told me."

"And in that amount of time she not only killed six men and managed to count them all but noticed what they were holding?"

"The kid's detail oriented. If she wasn't I'm sure half the institutions in the country would be up in flames. Somethin' that out of place caught her attention."

"She should be a detective instead of a princess."

His lip quirked up in a half smile. "She'd be good at it."

Jeb motioned farther along the table. "What are all her files doing in here?"

He shrugged and lied easily and without hesitation. "She was in here earlier. Needed a change of scenery from her office. Told me if she stayed in there any longer she might jump out the window just for something else to do."

"I can appreciate that." His son accepted the explanation. It wasn't hard to pull that off. He and Deeg always spent time together. What was having her in here to him? Nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing to have his son question the simple story. Jeb pulled his shirt back on. He jerked his head slightly toward the hall. "I'm going to go make sure they're okay. Would you get them some rooms?"

"I told you I would." He patted his good arm. "I'll go take care of that now and find you after."

"Thanks, Dad."

His heart warmed. "You're welcome."

"Will you have dinner with us or have you eaten?"

"That'd be nice." He stood up. "Give me about half an hour."

"No problem." Jeb followed him up as he spoke then made a beeline for the door. "It'll probably be longer than that for any of us to get hungry after what happened."

They walked out of his rooms and he locked the door behind him. Jeb retreated down the hall as he went in search of a steward. Twenty minutes later and he was in a conference with one about where he wanted Olivia and Sam. He wanted them as close to Jeb as he could get them. He knew there were a few empty rooms on their hall and they were discussing the differences between them. He wanted enough room for both of them and for Sam to run around. He was a four year old. He needed some space or he might implode with built up energy. Deeg found him while they were finishing up. He doubted it had been hard. They were standing in the middle of the hall.

She waited politely about ten feet away out of hearing range. The man in front of him finished what he was saying and he nodded sharply. He agreed with the choice. "That'll be fine. Thank you."

"Of course, General."

Turning away he saw that his girl had a sketchpad tucked under her arm. When he got to her he motioned down the hall. "I was about to come find you."

"I didn't think Jeb would appreciate me listening to that." That was sensitive of her. "Is everything okay? How bad is he hurt."

"Nothin' too bad. His arm could have used some stitches but I didn't see a point in putting him through that when Raw'll be back in another few hours. He'll be fine until then."

"What about-"

He cut in. "They're fine. They're all in Jeb's room."

"Oh." She pulled the pad out from under her arm. "I need to talk to them."

"Why?"

She flipped the cover open. "After I went and got those reports from the barracks-" He kept his mouth shut. He'd already scolded her about that. He wasn't buying her excuse about testing out bodyguards even if it was true. He supposed given that it was Deeg she'd done more than he could rightful ask for by bringing anyone with her. He forcefully let it go as she continued. "-I started making sketches from the reports."

"Sketches of what?"

"The men that got out."

He slowed to a stop and held his hand out for the booklet. He started flipping through what she had with a raised eyebrow. There was page after page of pictures. All of them were a bit rough but it was clear that they were individuals that could be recognized if they were spotted. "Where did you get this idea?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Drawin' the likenesses."

"I don't think this is a new idea. The witch had posters of us up everywhere."

"True, but she had pictures or other drawings of us to work from. Were there pictures in the files?" He doubted it. The funding the barracks got wouldn't cover anything like that. Not even ten or fifteen years ago when the men were arrested the first time.

"No, the descriptions were good though. I don't know who wrote them but…" She shrugged. "Anyway, I figured I did pretty good on at least a few." She reached over and turned a few pages. He recognized the man that had been in her room instantly. "I don't think I was biased even knowing what he looked like. The nose isn't the same exactly and he's younger here but that's him for sure. On the Otherside there are people who do this for a living. We call them forensic artists. I thought I'd give it a try."

Impressed, and also wondering where she found the time to do this, he flipped through the rest of them. On the second to last he paused and squinted his eyes. "I recognize this man."

"You do?"

He searched his memory but all he got was a wisp. "Damn. I can't remember."

"Did you arrest him?"

"No, but he probably got pulled in when I was workin' in the city. It was a long time ago."

"No big deal." She assured him as they started to walk again. "If Jeb can figure out who attacked him that should still help. If it wasn't one of these people then we either have another problem or this was totally random." She took the pad from him. "Stranger things have happened."

"Sure can't argue with that but I doubt it is. Jeb said the man had a dirk like the one you saw in Finaqua." Her eyes darted to him. "Would you be able to identify it if you saw another one?"

"I think so." They approached Jeb's door and she hung back. "Why don't you ask him about the pictures and I'll meet you later? You can tell him you knew I was working on this when he asks about it."

"You can come in."

She shrugged as if it wasn't anything to be bothered by. "This is a family crisis. I don't want to intrude on it."

He stopped again and looked her dead in the eye. "You are family, Deeg. You have been for awhile. Longer than what's been happenin' between us."

"That's sweet, Wyatt."

"It's true not sweet."

"Still." She shifted her weight. "Olivia and Sam never met me. This isn't the best time for introductions. Not if they're all wound up. I know you're new to them. You should get to know them first. There's no reason to add anything else to their day."

"Why are you tryin' to escape?"

"I'm not." She went still and he saw the honesty in her face as she spoke. "Really I'm not. But if it were me in their place I wouldn't want to be bombarded by a stranger, especially a noble, asking questions and poking around in my life. I know this is a big deal for you. Olivia and Sam are important to your son. That makes them important to you. I want this to go well for you. I want you to get along with them. I know it's been hard for you the last couple of years even if you tried to hide it. You and Jeb are getting along and you're so much happier. It's okay if it takes a couple of weeks, or months, or years for me to fit in with them. So you go take care of them and I'll occupy myself elsewhere."

He understood her reasoning and nodded. Deeg always seemed to negotiate a good outcome through any situation even if she didn't notice that she doing it. "Alright, Darlin'."

"You aren't mad at me for leaving? Because if you are I'll stay."

He knew his expression softened. "I'm not mad." Leaning in he didn't worry about anyone seeing what he was doing as he kissed her cheek. "I appreciate what you're sayin' and what you're doin' for me."

She was relieved by his answer. "Okay."

He smiled at her and tucked some of her hair behind her ear. "Will you come back to my room tonight?"

"If you want me to."

"I always want you to. I'd come to yours but it'd be hard to explain why I wasn't leavin'."

She smiled. "It is a bit easier for me. I'll see you in a few hours then?" He nodded as she took a step back and was halfway through turning when she spoke. "There's not a huge hurry on the ID. The man won't get any more dead than he already is. Take your time."

Shaking his head at her assessment he knocked on his son's door and walked in when he was invited. As he shut himself in with them he realized he was also shutting Deeg out. It felt wrong to have her separated from him right now. It also felt wrong that he knew virtually nothing about the young woman and little boy sitting on his son's couch together. As he greeted them he resolved to make those wrongs right.

Author's Note: Sorry this took so long. I got a job and it's obviously taking up a lot of my time. But no fear! I haven't abandoned my writing. I'm loving the love for this fic! Leave me one!


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: Sadly not mine. Although I think I got a new reader today. Hi stmpunklizzie! Thanks for the reviews!

The last few hours had been hard for him. It had been different from the lunch Jeb had taken him to. Olivia wasn't trying to impress him or set him at ease. He couldn't blame the poor girl. Despite her outward calm as she soothed her nephew he could see she was very disturbed by what happened. She was scared and in a strange environment with a terrified little boy. Despite the difference in the situation he was responding to the emotional stimulation the scene was producing. How could he not after what he'd been forced to watch for so long?

Jeb was doing his best to help his girl and Sam but he could see he was overwhelmed with both the situation and what he should be doing to help. He realized all at once that his boy was only nineteen. He had dealt with death and keeping a rebel force together. He had fought with his own guilt and rage over what happened to him in his childhood. Jeb had never seen what a man was supposed to do when his family was in trouble. Not in the aftermath. He had never seen it so how could he know? He blamed himself for not teaching him how to comfort his family. He blamed the war for not allowing Olivia to tell Jeb what she really needed from him at the moment. So he swooped in and took control.

Knowing Deeg's drawings could wait he set them on a nearby table. Smiling at Olivia he crouched down in front of her and squeezed her hand. "Are you hurt, Sweetlin'?"

She shook her head, too upset to be surprised by the question or the easy and accepting affection he was showing her. Beside her Sam was buried against her side with his face hidden in her dress and she shushed him as best she could. "No, Mr. Cain. We're both okay."

"Wyatt's fine, Olivia." He said as he reached out to the boy. He was sure he'd already told her that but he was also sure someone had taught the girl manners. "There are some rooms down the hall that are being set up for you." He addressed the boy. "It's all right, little man."

Sam sent him one scared look before twisting and latching onto him. He let him. He was pleased to be accepted so quickly by the four year old. But kids had always liked him. He didn't really know why. Maybe it was just because he liked them back. Regardless, he let Sam bury his head against his shoulder and cling to him as he stood up. He rocked him gently and rubbed his back reassuringly as he nodded to his aunt. "They'll be ready for you in an hour or so. I'll have someone go down to the city and get your things tomorrow once the tin men are done."

Jeb must have already told her this was happening because she seemed to have already been told this. "Thank you. You didn't need to go to all this trouble for us."

"It's no trouble." He assured her. Jeb seemed to have caught on that he wasn't doing something right and wrapped his hand around Olivia's. She squeezed it hard and he flinched a little. Still, he didn't pull away. He let the two be as the little boy cradled in his arms shivered. He patted his head. "Easy, Sam. Nothin's goin' to hurt you here. You're safe."

He murmured reassurances to the little boy until the shaking stopped. Sam didn't let go of him though so he didn't try to put him down. He thought the boy needed a distraction. Kids did better with distractions. He glanced over at Olivia for permission. "Would it be all right if I took him down to the stables?"

Olivia seemed both reluctant to let him go and aware that it was a good idea to get him out of his fearful state. Finally, she nodded. "Please watch him." He knew deep down she wasn't worried that he was going to let her nephew get hurt. She was just reacting the way any good caretaker would after what happened. He liked her more for that.

"I won't let anything happen to him."

She nodded again and he smiled at her as he held the boy. Olivia let go of Jeb abruptly. "Could you excuse me please?" Then she was out of the room and shutting herself in his son's bedroom. Jeb floundered in confusion at her sudden departure and looked at him for guidance. He tilted his head toward the closed door.

"Well go on."

Jeb stood up and swayed in indecision. "What am I supposed to do?" He whispered, clearly not wanting to upset Sam further.

"Don't leave her alone. The rest you'll have to work out between you." Sam fidgeted and he patted his back. "We'll be back in an hour or so." He headed toward the door. "You stay with her, Jeb."

His son nodded as he gathered himself as if he were going into a battle. He was heading toward the bedroom as he took Sam out into the hallway. He shut the door behind him then started talking to the boy. "Do you like horses?" Slowly, Sam nodded into his shoulder. His lip twitched. "Me too. Do you want to see mine?"

For the first time in half an hour Sam looked up. "You have a horse?"

"I sure do." He stopped long enough to set Sam on his feet. Holding his hand he led him forward as he continued to talk. "I don't get to ride him nearly enough though. I think he's gettin' fat."

The boy found that funny a smiled. "Really?"

"Really." He assured him. "Maybe we could get him some exercise. Would you like to ride him?"

Sam's dark eyes went three sizes bigger in excitement. Then he deflated a little. "I've never ridden a horse before."

"This seems like a good day to learn doesn't it?"

"You'll teach me?" He asked with the kind of hope only children could display.

"I'll have you in the cavalry by next week." He was suddenly looking forward to teaching him. He hadn't gotten to do anything like this in a while. Not since he taught Deeg to ride a few years ago. This wouldn't be the same as that though. The kid had been nervous for the first few lessons.

Why someone that grew up on a farm would be nervous around an animal had baffled him for weeks. When he finally asked her what the problem was she had reluctantly confessed that she'd watched one of her classmates in school get thrown off one and promptly get kicked in the head. He'd been taken to a healer of some kind but had never been quite the same after. He understood after that and changed his game plan with her. He'd taken her out of the saddle and found her a new horse.

The first one he picked out was a lovely thoroughbred. He was a beautiful animal and he thought a young horse that she could stay with for years would be a good idea. It had a dark brown coat and suited her station. After her story he changed his mind. He went back to the rather sizable selection the palace afforded and picked out a middle aged grey mare for her. The horse was the one of the sweetest tempered things he'd ever encountered. She was calm and patient and reminded him more of a dog then a horse. She would actually follow people around without a lead. It was the damndest thing.

As soon as he brought her into the small practice arena Deeg had fallen in love with her. He had watched as she visible relaxed and realized how much self-control she had been exerting to get into the saddle to begin with. He also realized that the only other time she'd been on a horse, that he knew of, she had been in front of him in the saddle. No doubt she was aware that he knew what he was doing and wasn't worried about him loosing control of the animal. That first day he just let the kid pet her new mount and groom her. He didn't bring out a saddle or suggest she try to ride her. After that things had gone much better and she had hugged him tightly afterward and thanked him sincerely for understanding.

But Sam wasn't scared of horses. At least not at the idea of them. Looking at him he didn't think he'd be scared when he saw them either. This should be fun. He asked Sam about when he'd seen a horse last as they walked toward the stables. Once he got the little boy started talking he realized there was no way to get him to stop. He babbled on about things at random, jumping from one topic to another without warning and his lip was twitching like mad listening. Sam just seemed happy that someone was listening to him.

By the time they walked into the stable Sam was on the subject of the insect life he found in his home. Apparently Olivia wasn't overly fond of spiders the way he was. The boy was disappointed his aunt didn't appreciate his pets and often made him get rid of them. He tried not to laugh as he pointed to a stall midway down the row toward his horse. Sam's babbling petered out and he raced to the door eagerly. His horse snorted when he saw his new visitor and looked over the stall door. He paused long enough to grab a few treats out of a bucket to bribe him before walking up next to Sam.

He handed a carrot to the little boy and he took it and held it up. His horse, the same one he'd… borrowed on the day of the eclipse wuffled at the sight and lowered his head to take the treat. Sam's smile covered his face and he petted Phantom's nose happily. The gelding didn't mind in the slightest. His temperament was one of the reason's he'd kept him. His original rider had been killed in the fight around the Tower and no one seemed to mind that he took him. He was a good horse. Easy to train and he'd been taught to deal with fighting. He didn't shy away from noise and when ordered would charge into a fray. That was more than a small advantage. That he didn't need to train him to do any of that just made his life easier. For all that he put up with nearly anything. A loud four year old wouldn't mean much to him.

Opening the stall door he hooked his horses' bridal in place and led him out. "Don't get behind him, Sam. Horses'll kick what they know is there but can't see. It's how they protect themselves."

The boy trotted next to him obediently and he tied Phantom to a post. Getting out a blanket and his saddle he took the time to show the boy how everything worked and answer all his questions. He had always thought it better to explain why he did things the way he did when teaching. That way there was no confusion. He saw Sam taking everything in quietly, and even if he didn't understand everything his mind was working out everything it could. He was impressed with the questions the boy threw at him. They were insightful and practical, especially for such a young child. When they were done he picked Sam up and plunked him into the saddle.

The little boy was beyond delighted in the situation he found himself in. "Hold onto the saddle horn." He pointed to the front of the saddle. "I'll show you how to ride him by yourself once we get out of the stable."

He nodded eagerly and held on tightly as he led Phantom out to the yard. He passed a couple of his soldiers who saluted him smartly as they went. He nodded to them and kept going. A moment later and they stepped out into the late afternoon light. They wouldn't be able to stay out for more than a half an hour or so before it got dark but that was fine. That was more than enough time to convince Sam that he wasn't scared anymore.

Sure enough by the time he helped the boy down he was bouncing about excitedly. He saw a few of the people milling about the area laughing in amusement at him. He was happy with the change over the last hour or so and when Sam wanted to help him groom Phantom he handed him a brush and showed him how. He liked Sam. He was a bright boy. He asked good questions and didn't hesitate to follow direction. Even after such a short time he could see the boy had some natural talent riding. There was no reason not to nurture that if Olivia would allow it. The boy would be an expert by the time he was ten.

Deciding to talk to the young midwife about that he ushered Sam out of the stall after he gave the horse another treat. Sam ran around him in happy circles, jumping and smiling. "That was so much fun!" He smiled as they headed back toward Jeb's room. "Can we do that again, Mr. Cain?"

"We'll ask your aunt."

"Yes!" He continued to romp. "Thank you! Thank you!"

He laughed and ruffled his hair. "I'm glad you enjoyed yourself."

"It was great! My friends won't believe me!"

By this point they were in the correct hallway. "Now don't go showin' off. A good friend doesn't do that."

"But Pete always brags about his stuff!" He complained.

He didn't know who Pete was but it didn't mater. "Doesn't mean you have to. It's better to be a good friend then a smug and well off man. At the end of the day things won't make you happy." He looked down at him. "Would you rather have a friend to talk to or a toy to play with by yourself?"

Sam looked at him with wide eyes as he absorbed that. "My friend."

"All right." He pointed him toward the door. "Keep that in mind before runnin' your mouth. It'll save you a lot of trouble in the long run. Thinkin' before actin' is never the wrong thing to do."

Sam was rolling that over as he knocked on the door. A moment later and Jeb opened it for them. His son was more relaxed and when Sam went to him he picked him up and threw him over his shoulder. The boy laughed and he followed them inside. Olivia was sitting on the couch looking much more calm than she had when they left. She was composed and more put together. When Jeb put Sam down she held her hands out and Sam promptly crawled into her lap. "Did you have fun?"

"Mr. Cain showed me how to ride a horse! It was so awesome!"

She smiled at him and started peppering him with questions as Jeb sat down. He took a chair next to his son and he turned to him. "Thanks, Dad."

"You're welcome. He's a good boy."

"He is." Jeb agreed. "I ordered us dinner. It should be here in a few minutes." He nodded and his son continued. He reached over and flipped the sketchbook open for him to see. "Where did this come from?"

"Deeg."

Jeb shook his head and turned to a page in the center. "I didn't know why you brought it until I saw this." He indicated the man staring up at them. "This is the man that jumped me."

He hummed and looked at it closely. The man wasn't the most attractive human in the O.Z. At least he was dead. His mind began to whirl as he spoke. "Let's talk about this later. No need to upset them all over again."

Jeb nodded and the following hour was pleasant enough although it did make him feel… bereft. He couldn't help but think of all the time he'd missed with Jeb as Sam and Olivia kept them company. He felt both a little left out by the talk and also welcomed by how all three of them were trying to get him involved. By the time he left them, with the promise to take Sam out for another lesson, he was emotionally exhausted. He retreated to his room and sat down to think. Something about this entire situation had his head spinning.

By the time Deeg found him he was warring with how to stop Vy-sor, the need to keep her safe, and his entire family situation. It was too much and most of it wasn't even meshing together in a coherent way. He heard Deeg in his room long before he saw her. She had never been trained to be quiet and it showed even if she often made the effort. Nothing compared to training. The small noises she made when she shifted her weight alerted him that she was here and looking for him. "I'm in the livin' room." He called to her as he sat in his preferred chair. He'd been sitting in it thinking for the better part of an hour.

She walked out of the room looking bemused. "How do you do that?"

"I could hear you."

"I wasn't making noise."

He almost laughed. "Yes you were." He held his hand out to her. "Come here, Darlin'."

She came to him and he saw her eyes flickering with concern as she got a good look at him. She took his hand and he slid her onto his lap. When he settled her he began to run his hand through her hair in an effort to sooth himself. Her arms wrapped around his shoulders and she leaned herself against him. "What's the matter, Wyatt?"

He pressed his forehead against the side of her head. He was still getting used to her using his first name on a regular basis. It was a novelty, having her say it. It felt almost like a reward he had earned for gaining her trust. Or maybe a gift she was giving him. Letting him know they were closer now, together. "I need you close for a little while."

"Okay." She hugged him a little tighter and burrowed against him. He felt himself relaxing with her warm against him and sighed in relief. Against him Deeg cuddled with him and kissed his jaw, bringing him back to the present and away from his running thoughts. "Did you have a nice visit?"

"I did." He tangled his hand in her hair. "I taught Sam to ride a horse."

She smiled against his skin. "You put him on Phantom didn't you?"

"How'd you know?"

"You love that horse." She teased him. "You should have put him on mine." She shifted a little before continuing. "She would never throw him off."

"Phantom was fine."

"Did you both have a good time?"

He smiled at the thought. "Yes."

"You like to teach."

"If I'm in the right mood." He agreed.

She reached up and rubbed at his shoulders. She could feel how stiff he was without a problem. "Why are you so tense then?"

He found it was easier to talk to her than he thought it would be. Not that it was easy. But it was easier than he thought. It was still hard in a lot of ways. "Sam had me thinkin' about Jeb when he was his age."

She leaned back a little and rubbed his cheek with her thumb. "You like being a dad don't you?"

"I always liked it. Even though I didn't think I would at first."

"Why did you think that?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. I was young and we were still gettin' settled together, Adora and I." She nodded to prompt him to continue. He was glad Adora hadn't suddenly become a taboo subject between them. He knew it easily could have but Deeg didn't seem to mind that he had a past. Maybe it was because she had her own. "I wasn't sure I'd be good at it. Made me nervous."

She smiled softly at him. "I bet you were adorable fussing over him."

He shook his head even as a smile tugged at his lips. "I did my best."

"Your best is pretty damn good, Wyatt."

"Thanks, Kid." He sighed. "It was easier when he was younger."

"Like it is with Sam?"

"Yes."

"You liked getting to know Sam."

"He's a good kid."

Her lip twitched. "You like Olivia. You said that."

"I know I did. I do."

"But you don't like things not being settled." That was true enough. He nodded and Deeg rubbed his shoulder. "It's going to be a little while before that happens. A lot of stuff is going on. Family stuff, crazy stuff, military stuff, us stuff."

He huffed out a laugh. "Thank you for pointin' that all out."

She smiled at him. "I'm just saying it's a lot. It's all right to be a little overwhelmed."

His forehead furrowed. "What did you say?"

"That it's fine if you need to-"

"Overwhelmed."

"Yeah, you don't have to be a super hero-"

He kissed her dead on the lips and she finished the sentence in a mumble against his mouth. He tilted her head back and she moaned deep in her throat. When he pulled away the kid was breathless and he was smiling brilliantly as an idea sparked. "You're smarter than the headcase any day."

"Oh." She was slightly dazed. "What did I say?"

"Just what I needed to hear. We need to go to my office."

Author Note: Leave me a review! I love them so! Especially tied in a bow! Or written by a pro! You could even type one with your big toe!... Okay, I'm done now.


	21. Chapter 21

Disclaimer: Not mine.

"Wyatt?" She had been trying to catch up with him as he breezed through the corridors. He was usually nice enough to slow down for her while they walked together but not today. His legs were significantly longer than hers and it gave him an advantage in the sudden speed walking contest he seemed so intent on. She grabbed at him as they turned a corner. She managed to latch onto his sleeve and was dragged around as he pivoted, her free arm pin wheeling as her feet tried to stay under her. The tin man twisted his arm without blinking an eye and caught her around the middle before she could fall flat on her face. He steadied her as they moved forward. She spoke as she caught her balance. "Are you going to tell me why I'm chasing you down the hall?"

"If you were chasing me I would already be gone."

"Okay, ninja Cain."

"What's a ninja?" He asked as they started up a flight of stairs.

Scrambling up as fast as she could she grumbled. "A secrete and noble assassin of the night."

"No such thing as a noble assassin."

"Have you ever met a ninja?"

"Since I didn't know what that is I'm guessin' no."

"Then how do you know?"

"Nothin' noble about killin'. Sometimes it's a necessity. There isn't anything decent about it."

She sighed at his lack of openness on the subject of super cool ninjas even as she mentally applauded his thought process. "I can see we're getting off subject."

"Deeg, you can't stay on one when you try."

"Beside the point!"

"I hadn't realized you had one." They turned one last corner and she spotted his office in the distance. She really hoped he stopped moving once they got there. The dash had made her realize how out of shape she was. She needed to start running, or sparring with Glitch again, either or.

"I'll reiterate."

"You do that." He pulled his key out of his pocket and spun it around his hand as they got closer.

"What are we doing?"

"You gave me an idea."

"I noticed." He waved two guards away as they approached and the men saluted smartly before moving past them toward the stairs, his office was at the back of the long corridor. She had a feeling he often chased the palace guards away while he was working. Cain was so paranoid she would have been suspicious if he hadn't gotten everyone out of earshot. How crazy was that? Her being suspicious of him not being suspicious? That was messed up. So was being comforted that he was inherently and utterly distrustful of nearly every person on this and the other side of the rainbow. It also made her feel all warm and content that he did trust her. "What might that idea be pray tell?"

He unlocked the door and held it for her politely. She walked in and he shut and locked it behind them. She let her eyes scan the room briefly as she looked for anything that had been changed since she'd been here a few days ago and didn't see anything but a slightly shorter stack of papers sitting inside his in box. He went to a drawer and began shuffling around. "I think you're right."

"I usually am." She agreed cheerfully as she hopped up and sat on the edge of his desk. It always bothered him when she did that. Not that he ever showed it. But every time she sat on the edge idly swinging her legs his eyes would dart from her to the chair sitting across the expanse of wood, as if staring at the two of them hard enough would somehow float her over to it and keep her there. At some point it had turned into a game for her, as most things did. She wondered how long it would take him to simply ask her to sit in the seat. As soon as he did she would, but until then she thought she could hang out right where she was.

He shot her an amused look. "Sure you are."

She grinned cheekily. "What was I right about?"

"Overwhelmin' Vy-sor."

She had no idea what he was talking about. "That!" She snapped her fingers. "Of course. Overwhelming the bad guy. It was a brilliant idea in all respects. Let's go over it so I'm sure you have all the details right. Don't need any miscommunication. Could ruin my entire amazing, bad guy stopping plan of awesome."

He chuckled at her, totally aware she was lost, as he pulled a map out and stepped toward her. He pecked her on the lips and unrolled the sheet of paper. She twisted so she could see it and he sent her a calculating smile. "Do you know what's more terrifyin' than two powerful and magical princess?"

"You before you've had coffee?"

His lip twitched. "Three powerful and magical princess." His eyes glittered. "Or maybe four or five."

She saw what he was getting at. "You want me to make copies of myself?"

"And set them up in the right places to lure him out." The tin man indicated the map. It depicted central city and the surrounding area. His eyes were darting from place to place as he started to plan a strategy. She was sure he was working out where the best place to have Vy-sor ambushed would be. "He won't be able to resist gettin' at you." She could tell he was as close to maniacal giggling as he was ever going to get. "We'll inundate him with princess." The thought clearly brought him great joy as he pictured it. She had no doubt images of six DG's leaping crazily at the hapless man was almost too much for him to entertain.

Her forehead crinkled as she thought about that. "Wyatt…" She so hated to admit when she couldn't do something. Especially when he so rarely asked her to do anything. "I don't know if I can do that."

"Why?" He wasn't about to give up on this idea until he had all the facts straight.

She waved her hand slightly. "Making one copy is about as much delicacy as I can manage."

His forehead crinkled. "Delicacy?"

"I'm not sure if Az could do that either." She was seriously considering what this would take.

"You have more magic than you're sister."

She wasn't surprised he noticed that. Still, he didn't know as much about magic as she did. Not anymore. She had been studying hard. "It's not about the amount of magic. I'm a heavy hitter. I can't do things like that."

He eyed her. He wasn't putting together her small frame with the term 'heavy hitter'. "You lost me, Kid. What's the difference between the two of you?"

"What's the difference between you fighting and Glitch fighting? He turns into a dancer of doom and you dive in and clock a guy across the jaw." She mimicked one of his harsh punches with ease. He'd showed her a few things before sending her off to Glitch for training. He'd told her his type of fighting would be better for her. "In terms of magic I'm you and Az is Glitch. I can pack a wallop but I've got no finesse at all."

"You're saying I don't have finesse?"

She grinned at him and tugged him down by the edge of his collar so she could kiss him. When she pulled back she was smiling playfully. "Well… not in a fight."

His eyes flared with heat at the innuendo. "Flattery will get you nowhere, Princess."

"I disagree. I think with you it'll get me farther than you'll admit." She kissed him again and he relaxed into her for a moment before reluctantly pulling away.

"Deeg, I think this could work. Is there any way you could make this happen?"

"Maybe if Az and I work together. We were always stronger together." She rolled her shoulders. It always helped her do magic when she was stretched out. Even the thought of such a strong spell had her trying to loosen up. "You know I'll try but I can't guarantee this'll work. Even if we can get two or three illusions going at once I don't know how long we can keep them together before they disintegrate."

He cupped her face and smiled. "I know you can do this. If we plan it right you won't need to keep them goin' for long. An hour or two at most."

His confidence in her made her more sure about this. "Then we'll make it work. Even if it gives Toto an aneurism. He can't stand it when I improvise."

"The mutt lacks imagination." He said. He rarely had anything good to say about the man. More often than not he was simply silent on the subject of her teacher. She knew that wasn't a positive response for him. It was simply as tactful as Cain could be.

"Why don't you like Toto?" She asked curiously.

"I never said I didn't like Tutor."

She wasn't convinced. She might not be as good at reading people as he was but she could read him. "Wyatt?"

"He could have gotten us killed. He could have gotten you killed."

"That was years ago. Besides, he was trying to help, buying us time."

"So he says." The tin man had gone serious and she could sense the anger he was keeping under tight control. "But he could have told us. He could have warned us. He could have done something else entirely. Instead he decided to play both sides. If we'd been caught he would have most likely been freed. If we killed the witch he would be put back in a comfortable position with the reinstated queen. He didn't pick a side until I took the choice away from him."

"You don't trust him."

"Not at all."

"Do you hate him?"

His thumb ran over her cheek. "I still don't think you understand what you meant when you came back. You were hope, Deeg. You were the only hope anyone in the Outer Zone had in over a decade. A dead princess come back to life. Maybe the only one in the world with enough magic to stop the witch and set us free again. You were it. You were all we had. The only thing between us and an eternity of darkness and he would have traded you away to save his own skin. It wouldn't have just been us to suffer if the witch caught us. It would have been everyone."

She watched him quietly. She rarely considered what coming back here meant. She was either too busy with life or the thought was simply too overwhelming for her to deal with. She chose not to deal with it now either. Instead she focused on what Cain was and wasn't saying. "Why didn't you kill him? When we were in the forest and you found the disks? Why didn't you?"

"You told me not too." He answered simply.

"I didn't understand what was happening. You knew that. Why did you listen?"

He sighed before he answered. "You won't like my answer." She looked up at him, waiting. He gave into her silent prompt. "It was an order from my princess."

She turned her head away. She didn't know what she was feeling. Whatever it was it wasn't good. "I've never given you an order."

"Kid-" Catching the other side of her face he turned her head back as he crouched down in front of her. "-you know what I was like that first week. I wasn't…" He took a breath. "I wasn't stable. I could barely control myself. You were the only thing that was keepin' me from goin' on a rampage. When I caught Toto I didn't know Jeb was alive. All I knew was that my family was dead, the man that killed them was still alive, he was after us, I had been locked up for years, and you were the one that let me out. I don't know why you kept me sane. I don't know if it was your magic, or if you were the one that let me out, or if it was because you were a princess, or if it was because you were my friend. Maybe it was all of it tangled together. I don't know why."

"It wasn't supposed to be an order." She was seriously upset that he thought that. They were supposed to be equal. That was how it was. He was different than everyone else. Different than everyone else that thought she was some sort of magical saint sent from heaven. He knew who she really was. He knew she was klutzy and had horrible fashion sense. He knew she often cursed like a drunken sailor when she was frustrated and they were alone. He knew she had nightmares but wouldn't admit it. He knew how scared she was sometimes and never made her feel bad about it. He'd seen her drunk off her ass and with her head in a toilet. She didn't give orders to this man.

"I know it wasn't, Darlin'." He started stroking her face gently, affectionately. "But I couldn't tell up from down then. You told me not to hurt him so I didn't. At the time I told myself I was doin' my duty. I'd picked my side and it was you. You were my princess." There was emotion in his eyes she couldn't understand. "Of all the people you could have trusted I knew you'd picked me first. Even then. You put your faith in me. I'm not sure you can understand what that really meant to me." His fingers began to wind through her hair. "You were trustin' me to keep you safe but you were trustin' me to do what you thought was right. For me lettin' him live was the foolish thing. To you it was the only thing. If I hadn't listened it would have ended any trust we had between us. Your trust was all I had. I couldn't-" She saw him struggling. "-I couldn't admit that to myself. So I told myself it was an order. I let it be one. I couldn't handle it bein' anything else. Not then."

The knot in her stomach loosened a little. "Okay."

"I know you don't like that answer. I don't want you angry."

"I'm not angry. I understand what you're telling me. I just… I don't like the idea of you taking orders from me. It's not like that with us."

"I know." He leaned in a little cautiously and kissed her when she didn't pull away. "It's not. You're my anchor, Deeg. At the time I needed you to be the princess and nothin' else like you needed me to be a tin man and nothin' else."

"You were never just a tin man to me."

He nodded seriously. "It took me longer to catch up to you."

"It wasn't a race, Wyatt." They relaxed back into each other. She reached out and played with his shirt cuff. "I wasn't ready when we met either. I would have panicked if this started sooner than it did. You weren't the only one that needed time."

His hand slid fully into her hair. She leaned forward as he moved in and within seconds they were pressed against one another with their mouths locked. The tin man tugged her closer and she wrapped her legs around his waist and was reaching up toward the buttons on his shirt when he broke away. "Wait a second."

This man lacked a serious sense of fun. "Come on." She tugged him back. "We can be quiet. You locked the door. You know you want to be naughty."

He wasn't listening. "Do you hear that?"

She leaned back and listened. "I don't hear anything."

He put a finger on her lips and started looking around the office. He was frowning in confusion even as he caught her around the waist and set her on the floor. He gave her a gentle shove toward the door. "Go. Whatever it is doesn't belong in here."

The hair on the back of her neck stood up as she followed his direction. She knew better than to question Cain when he was nervous about something. He was right behind her and when they were next to the door she heard it to. "It's ticking." Like the clock in his living room. "Did you get a clock?"

"No."

"What else would be ticking-" She reached out to grab the door handle and the tin man grabbed her arm so hard and fast she was sure she was going to bruise. He yanked her backward and she stumbled into his chest.

"Don't!"

"What's the matter?"

"The damn door's been booby trapped!" She looked at it more closely and on the bottom hinge she saw a thin black wire.

She backed up farther as her stomach dropped. "What's it about to do?"

"I have no idea." His voice was tight with fear as he threw her behind him. "But we can't get out of here without it goin' off."

She eyed the door warily and then she noticed something else. Cold fear hit her. "The ticking is getting faster."

"It's on a timer. It must have activated when I locked the door." He was gripping at her hard. "Window!"

"We're eight stories up!"

"I don't see any other option!"

"Are you serious? I'm not hanging off any more buildings! Once was enough!" Spinning him around she threw her arms around him and closed her eyes. "Hold on to me!"

His arms clamped around her. "What are-"

She teleported them out of the room before he could finish the question. Her jumping trick was usually a lot smoother but she'd never dragged another person along with her before. She wasn't even sure she was supposed to be able to do that, but desperate times called for desperate measures. A strange sort of painfully cold wind tore at them for several moments as they were suspended in darkness and then they blinked back into existence on the other side of the door. They crashed to the ground in a painful heap. She let out a shout as her hip hit the hard tile even as Wyatt grabbed her and hauled her up. The two guards jumped at their appearance and he yelled at them. "Run!"

He hurled her to her feet and they both took off toward the stairs. The two guards were a pace or two ahead of them as they ran, Wyatt herding her in front of him. The four of them hadn't made it more than ten feet when there was a massive explosion behind them. It rocked the building and she turned her head in time to see a massive ball of fire billowing out toward them. Reacting on instinct she spun around the tin man in a single fluid move and raised her hand in the second she had before they were overwhelmed by heat.

She flared pure white as her magic erupted out of her. The shockwave hit her light and a second explosion folded in on the first as she forced it back. The walls around them began to crack from the strain as the energy tried to find any way to escape and she threw her other arm up in an effort to maintain the undefined magic she had hurled out. A non-specific spell was nearly impossible to control once it had been let loose but if this one escaped her control they were all going to die. Gritting her teeth she planted her feet and pushed forward physically and magically. Below her the floor let out a groan from the strain of it. The tile began to fracture and she hoped like hell that the energy didn't break into another level of the palace. Sweat erupted on her forehead from the strain and she felt the magic slipping around alarmingly as fire continued to roll against the wall of white magic that she'd created.

Knowing she couldn't hold it much longer she let out a second wave of energy, all the magic she possessed, and hurled it forward. It melded with the shield, giving it more of a purpose, and crashed into the fire. For a horrible second nothing happened. Then all at once her magic won out over the fire and flew forward, smothering the flames as it went. The light filled the hall and raced to the other end. There wasn't a chance to congratulate her quick thinking because her magic crashed into the end of the hall and through Cain's office before it ricocheted back. She hadn't thought to tell it to stop when it was done. Now the magic was going to keep going until it ran out of steam, extinguished every fire in a ten mile radius, or she stopped it. If she hadn't programmed the thing for destruction she would have let it go. The problem was it would most likely injure anyone near a fire. "Crap!" She shouted as she took a step forward and flared her palms open.

The magic slammed into her and she did her best to absorb it back. It mostly worked. She got the magic to stop but it threw her back like a shot out of a sling. She was flung past Wyatt and both guards and slammed into the tile on her back with enough force to knock all the air out of her lungs. She slid backward to the edge of the stairs and then tumbled head over heels down them. She heard Cain shout in fear as she bounced and when she hit a landing and was finally stopped by another wall she lay there on her stomach, crumpled up and stunned. That had hurt like a mother. And she still couldn't draw air into her lungs.

The tin man was down the stairs and next to her in moments and he turned her carefully onto her back. "Deeg? Sweetheart? Are you all right?"

She forced a small amount of air in at last. Looking up at him she wheezed. "Ow." He let out a short breath even as he started to look her over. She started to try to sit up and his hand settled over her shoulder to keep her down. "Stay still. Ozma knows what you may have scrambled in that." He turned his head and started to bark orders. "Go get Raw and the Consort! I want a full report on whatever the hell that was attached to the door in two hours and a full run down of what's been happenin' in this building by every guard on duty! Now!"

The two guards took off and he turned his attention back to her. "Where's it hurt?"

"Umm…" She thought about that seriously, then she wished she hadn't. "Everywhere but the top of my left ear."

"That was the craziest thing I've ever seen you do."

She was still wheezing. "I'll work on something crazier when the pain dulls to a low roar, kay?"

He stroked her face as worry settled over him. "You do that. Until then be still and focus on breathin'." Taking his advice she sent him a strained smile and let him keep watch over her. As his eyes scanned the area she decided she really needed an aspirin or something.

Author Note: Okay, another agent is looking at my book. I'm being cautiously optimistic. Send good thoughts toward me, or better yet the manuscript that is even now in the hands of the U.S. postal service.


	22. Chapter 22

Disclaimer: Tin Man does not belong to me.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!" She complained vigorously as Raw and her father moved her around so the viewer could see her easier. "I like being down!"

They let her ease back the way she'd been laying as she repressed a moan. "Sorry, Spitfire."

"Hey, no worries." She patted Ahamo's hand. "Other than the massive amount of pain, I'm good. Honestly."

"I do distinctly remember teaching you not to rough house on the stairs." Her father teased her gently as his eyes sparked with concern.

"I blame magical amnesia for losing the lesson. Plus, you know, I never listen." Raw was running his hand over her rib cage carefully as she and her father bantered. Ahamo was taking this better than Cain was, which was actually calming her down. The tin man, who had tried to help her sit up about ten minutes into waiting for someone else to get here, had gone into a near panic when the jostling made her scream. Now he was hovering anxiously in the background watching the triage operation.

The tin man so rarely showed any type of fear that it was freaking her out. He'd sat next to her on the landing and run his hand over her hair to try to calm her down while they waited for help. The thing was, while she was in pain she wasn't really upset. But he was. She knew once Raw go there everything would be fine. Cain wasn't sharing that opinion. So she let him comfort her because it comforted him.

She kind of wished he would sit back down with her though. She had no idea what was the matter with her but every time she moved a bolt of pain tore from her lower back down her left leg. Raw spoke for the first time since he came. The viewer had been letting her father and Cain reassure themselves that she was alive for the last few minutes as he used his gift to scan her like an x-ray machine. "DG?"

"Yeah, Raw?"

"Broke hip."

"Oh, that's stellar." She took a deep breath. "Explains the pain though."

Cain looked at the viewer. "Can you heal the break?"

"Should be able to. Not bad. Small crack." He said calmly. "But not what Raw worried about."

She almost started to laugh, at the sheer ridiculousness of this situation, but it would have hurt. Ahamo asked the question first. "What are you worried about?"

"Insides."

"What's wrong with her?" Cain asked in tense, clipped syllables.

"Bleeding inside. Must stop quickly. Will take much care. Will need Kalm to help. Tin man should go get."

He shifted momentarily, then nodded sharply. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Get med kit from room." Raw continued. "Need things out of it."

"Where is it?"

"Kalm will show."

He nodded again, looked at her meaningfully, and then turned and went down the stairs quickly. When he was out of ear shot Raw patted her hand. "DG will be fine. Do not worry. Too much for tin man today. Needed something to do. Not good for him to stand and watch. Cain no good at standing and watching."

She caught his gloved hand and squeezed it. She was grateful for his understanding even if her anxiety rose when Wyatt left her sight. "Good idea."

"Too much?" Ahamo asked as he slid gracefully to the ground next to her. He had decided to dig in while she was being taken care of.

"Son attacked in city, office booby trapped, DG with him then hurt. Too much. Standing here watching. Not helping. Better when has something to do."

"Jeb was attacked?" Her father asked with obvious surprise and anger.

"He was with Olivia and Sam. Someone was in their apartment. One of the men from the suites was waiting for them to come home. I don't think he was expecting Jeb to be with them."

Ahamo tilted his head as he took her other hand and began to rub her fingers gently. "Who are Olivia and Sam?"

"Jeb's girlfriend and her nephew."

"He's got himself a squeeze? Good for him."

"A squeeze?" She smiled at him as she teased him. "You are so old. Who even says that anymore?"

His eyes twinkled down at her. "I've been gone thirty years. Cut me some slack, DG."

"Bah, you'd run me in circles if I did that."

"True enough." His fingers were loosening her stiff hands methodically. She hadn't realized her hands were stiff until just now. It must have been the magic overload. She was really sore all over. She'd thought it was the fall but maybe the magic wasn't helping either. "How bad are you hurting, Spitfire?"

She was honest with him. "It's pretty bad but I'm not going to freak out on you."

"DG strong. Will be fine. Raw wants to numb hurt before heal. Otherwise not going to be easy as could be."

"Thanks, Raw. I know it's going to wear you out."

"What Raw's gift is for. Glad to have been blessed with such power. Raw likes to help."

She smiled at him through the pain. Now that she stopped moving it had leveled out a little. She could manage this. "You're sweet."

The viewer's eyes reflected his affection for her. "So is DG. All will be fine soon. Must be patient."

"Because that's what I'm good at."

Both of them laughed and she did her best to stay still. "This getting attacked thing is getting old. I'd like to go to bed feeling secure again."

"All will be well soon." Raw assured her.

"Psshhh." She responded. As the sound left her she heard footsteps and turned her head slowly. Ahamo was on his feet with two knives out in the time it took her to blink and Raw moved in front of her protectively. But it was only Cain with Kalm trailing behind him. Cain had his gun in his hand and Kalm was carrying the med kit so the tin man's hands were free in case of a surprise attack.

Raw extended his hand and waved the young teen forward. "Kalm come. Must help."

The thirteen year old set the case down and crouched next to her. Kalm was quiet even for a viewer. He rarely spoke but he was sweet and utterly patient. His ability to set nearly anyone at ease was a huge asset. So was his gift. Raw told her he'd never met a viewer with sight like his. He hadn't fully manifested yet, his power was still growing, but Raw seemed convinced that he was some sort of viewing savant. She wasn't about to argue with him even if he was biased toward his nephew. What did she know about it?

Kalm took a deep breath as Raw opened the leather case. "Kalm cannot heal this." He said this with easy acceptance of his own limitations.

"Kalm not need to." Raw assured him as he filled a syringe with a pale green liquid. "Raw need Kalm to watch and direct. Do not have enough energy to do both at once." With that her friend rolled up her sleeve and carefully injected her.

"Kalm can do that." The young viewer agreed calmly. Sitting down a foot or so away he crossed his legs under him and closed his eyes. His breathing evened out quickly and she knew he'd fallen into a trance. Raw touched her arm lightly where he'd stuck her and the small hole the needle had made vanished as if it had never existed. Her head started to spin almost immediately and the sensation freaked her out even as the pain began to diminish.

Her hand tightened over her father's hard. "Raw, what did you put in me?"

"Pain killer."

She twitched all over as it started to work. Her whole body felt strange. It wasn't pleasant. She wasn't entirely sure this was all that much better than the pain. "I don't like this." She began to tingle all over and she had the strangest sensation that there was an ice cube sliding around in her brain. This was really not okay with her. "The pain was better than this." She jerked as if it would get the drug to stop working.

"Kid, stop movin'." The tin man sat back down next to her head, taking up the small space there was left on the now very crowded landing. "You're goin' to make it worse."

She jerked again despite what he said and Ahamo leaned over her so their faces were close. "DG, it's like LSD. You need to calm down or you're going to have a bad trip."

She understood what it was as soon as Ahamo said that. "You dosed me with vapors?" She nearly wailed. That was just so wrong.

"What's LSD?" Cain asked.

Raw took her hand again. "Only drug Raw could give and still be able to heal right. Other things would have made numb. Cannot fix if cannot feel with you. Azkadilla make some for Raw. Very good at alchemy."

It was so great Az had mad skills making magical narcotics. Such a handy ability when you got right down to it. "Am I going to start seeing little green fairies?"

Ahamo chuckled as he sat back as Raw and Cain exchanged a confused look. The tin man cracked first. "Why would they be green? Fairies are the same color as-"

"Nevermind!" She interrupted before he could get started. She did not want a lesson on what real fairies looked like at this very moment.

"Spitfire, you need to relax."

Her emotions swung from anxiety to near panic in an instant. "I'm all floaty and my head has ice in it! I was just hurled down a staircase by an explosion and apparently I have internal bleeding! I'm not relaxed!"

"Well, at least it's workin'." Cain muttered under his breath. Then he reached out and pulled her slightly. A moment later her head was resting on his thigh, which was a lot more comfortable than the tile, and he had his hand on her forehead. "Take a breath."

She shifted to rage without warning. "Don't get practical with me right now, Wyatt Cain! I don't want to take a breath!" She snarled.

"I can see that. Next few hours are goin' to be fun I see." He started running his hand through her hair in a familiar pattern. He always touched her this way when they were relaxed. Usually after they made love or were simply sitting together on the couch. The ease of it, the affection, had her rage flowing away. She relaxed all over he smiled down at her warmly. "That's better, Darlin'."

Raw shifted closer as Cain spoke soothingly. Her attention turned to her furry friend and she caught sight of her father looking directly at Cain with the strangest expression she'd ever seen on his face. Before she could processes it the viewer had her attention, or as much attention as she could manage at the moment. "Will heal now. DG must be still. May feel strange. Trust Raw and do not fight."

"Alright." She said agreeably. Now affection was all she could feel for anyone and everyone. She wondered what emotion the vapors would call up in her next and then decided it didn't matter because things were all nice and fuzzy. A lot like her old teddy bear that she used to drag around with her everywhere.

Raw pushed her shirt up to the bottom of her bra and set his hands over her exposed stomach. It was dotted with dark spot and she could see her left side was nearly black with a large bruise. She figured it was a pretty good guess that it was the area that had the viewer so concerned. Heat began to build under the viewer's palms and Kalm spoke again. "Deeper inside." The heat extended as Raw's eyes went blank. They were open but whatever he was looking at wasn't in front of him.

Suddenly her insides tightened as she sucked in a surprised breath. It didn't hurt but it felt like someone was tightening a string around her. Her untroubled acceptance of the entire world vanished as dread nearly choked her. "Okay, this is weird." She was sure if she clamped down any harder on Ahamo's hand she would snap something.

Raw didn't respond to her but Cain's free arm snaked over her clavicles to hold her down. "Be still. It won't take as long if you don't move."

The hand she wasn't holding Ahamo with came up and locked around Wyatt's wrist as he held her down. Her knuckles were white as fear rolled over her. She didn't think it was entirely to with the drugs. Raw was literally messing with her major organs, or maybe her minor ones. Either way it wasn't good. She would have shut her eyes but all that would have done would be to increase the sensations going on in her body. Kalm's voice was a steady cadence beside them. "To the left. Follow veins toward heart."

The sensation shifted and she sucked in a breath. "Easy, Deeg." The tin man's hand never stopped stroking through her hair.

She began to pant fearfully as she lost control of any calm she had. "If this happens again please knock me out. Just, smack, dead across the face."

"That's not funny." The tin man said.

"I'm really not kidding." Her nails started digging into Wyatt's wrist and she was sure he was thankful for the cuff on his shirt. Otherwise she would have been drawing blood for sure. "This is the worst thing ever." It really was. She would have preferred the pain to feeling so utterly out of control. She could handle pain. Right now she couldn't even get hold of her own emotions they were shuffling so fast. "Don't do this to me again!"

"It's not as bad as you're making it, Spitfire-"

"Shut up, Ahamo!" Her panic was cresting. "I feel like I'm on a rollercoaster from hell! I can't get anything to stop!"

"Deeg, look at me." Wyatt stopped stroking her hair as he spoke. She tried to wiggle and his arm pressed her down. "Look at me." He was utterly calm in the face of her reaction to this and she did what he said.

He started stroking her hair again when he had her attention. "You know Raw won't hurt you." That penetrated some part of her higher brain function and she nodded as much as she could with the grip he had on her. "And I wouldn't let anyone do anything to you either." Okay, she was getting behind his argument. Mentally she shoved at the drug hard and felt a little clarity returning. He felt her relaxing and his fingers tickled her scalp. "Ignore the vapors and focus on me."

She took a deep breath. "Okay."

"Okay." He agreed as they stared at one another. "Tell me how you shoot." She made a sad noise and he raised an eyebrow. When he'd been teaching her he'd made her do the same drill five million seven hundred and sixty eight times. Give or take three times in either direction. She had never been so sick of anything in her life. It wasn't even worth getting touched by him as he continually moved her hands and shoulders with easy acceptance of their proximity. "I'm waitin'."

"Hold the butt with my right hand and steady it with my left." Something twinged and she sucked in a breath.

"Keep goin'."

"Spread my feet at shoulder width and keep the left one back for balance." The heat intensified and she felt another crash of emotion. This was pure euphoria and she closed her eyes tightly as she tried to get a grip. "Aim and breathe. Take my time."

His hand tickled her scalp. "Eyes open."

"Yeah." She forced herself to follow his instructions. "Both eyes open."

"And then what?"

"Pull back the hammer." Her grip on him tightened farther. "Squeeze the trigger slowly. No hesitating or the barrel will jerk."

"Good. What do you do after?"

"Same thing."

"Until?"

"Until I kill whatever's after me or run out of bullets."

"What do you do if you run out of bullets?"

"Run like hell." She repeated that instruction back verbatim and his lip twitched.

"Good to know you pay attention." Ahamo commented with amusement.

"Can't forget after he drones the same instructions over and over until I'm ready to bash my head against a wall." She replied.

"Did you learn?" The tin man asked.

"Apparently."

"Then the dronin' paid off. Quit you're grippin'."

"I'll grip as I see fit." She retorted.

"At least-" The heat intensified further and she swore she felt something snap inside her. Pain penetrated through the vapors and she screamed and jerked. Even Cain's grip on her barely kept her down. As quickly as the intense sting hit it vanished and she slumped limply to the tile.

She whimpered rather pathetically. "Are you done Raw?" The viewer continued to stare ahead without expression. She looked at Cain pleadingly. "Is he done? Can it be done now? Please?"

"Shhh." The tin man was clearly more than a little upset over her pleading. "It's almost done. Everything's okay, Deeg." A tear tracked down her cheek when she realized he wasn't going to make the viewer stop and he brushed it away as sorrow seeped through her like quick moving smoke.

"It's not." She insisted.

"It is." He tucked the hair that had escaped in her struggle behind her ears. "Vapor's have you all mixed up. I promise it's okay."

"Make it stop." She begged as her head spun in circles around itself. She started to loose a grip on everything. Even direction. She wasn't sure if she was up or down even though she knew she was on the floor.

"Only a little longer, Darlin'."

Giving up at his stubborn hold she went still and quiet. That seemed to alarm both the tin man and Ahamo. Her father squeezed her hand when she hadn't spoken for over a minute. "DG?" She turned her head away apathetically and stared at the wall. Her father shook her arm slightly. "DG!"

"Tired." She said emotionlessly. "Go away."

"Don't fall asleep!" Wyatt snapped at her suddenly. He turned her head back so she was looking up instead of at the wall. "You fall asleep and Raw won't be able to finish. He has to feel with you. If you pass out he can't do that." Feeling that was terribly unjust she tried to get away from him. He held her as tightly as he ever had. "Stop wigglin'."

"I want up!" She shouted loudly as she flipped to another emotion. Indignation radiated out of her. "Now!"

Kalm spoke calmly despite her screaming. "Farther right. Be careful or will miss tear."

"Glinda's left slipper." The tin man growled, ignoring the boy as he pressed her down. "She's worse than Glitch was with half a brain."

"Go to hell!" She yelled. "Let me go, Wyatt!" She started to jerk her leg up and Ahamo caught it and held her down. Pain sparked briefly and it only pissed her off more. She screeched at the consort. "I hate you!" No sooner had the words left her mouth then she switched again. "I'm sorry." She was close to tears in a heartbeat. "I didn't mean that, daddy."

The consort's eyes flashed up to her face in shock. She had never once, in any of the memories she had, called him daddy. While she was sure she had, it hadn't been in at least fifteen years. Since she got here she'd been calling him Ahamo. Twice he'd managed to get a dad out of her. But never daddy. Not once. Az was the one that called him that. She swore the consort was either about to melt or break down at that name. "I know you didn't, Spitfire."

Raw shuddered and blinked rapidly. He pulled his hands away from her stomach as he let out a long sigh. He rocked back as he gathered himself together. "Fixed. Harder than thought. Will have to stop when done with hip. Will not be able to heal bruises until rest."

"Whatever you have to do, Furball." The tin man jerked his head toward her still broken bone. "Just get her patched up as best you can so we can get her to a bed. She's goin' to end up hurtin' herself if you don't finish this fast. We're lucky she's out of magic or she would have already fried us."

"Yes." Raw agreed. He put his hand over her left hip and then it was hot too. In contrast to whatever he'd done to her stomach this took almost no time. He had the break fixed in less than three minutes. Of course in that time she'd cycled through another six extreme emotional states but at least it was over. The viewer slumped against the wall. "Done."

"Can she walk without hurtin' anything?" Wyatt asked cautiously.

"Might hurt tin man if get's angry." Raw observed as another spike of rage rolled through her.

"I meant is she goin' to hurt herself?" He said with exasperation.

"Will not hurt self. Might take moment to regain balance."

"This should be fun." Ahamo commented as the tin man carefully loosened his hold on her. "No fighting, DG."

She blinked at him in bafflement. She loved her father. "Why would I fight you?"

The tin man got up and reached down. He hooked his arms under hers and hauled her up. She clutched at his shoulders as her body tilted to the left but she corrected herself quickly. When she was steady on her feet she let him go and he put a wary hand on her back. "Let's get to your rooms, alright?" With a shrug of disinterest she started down the stairs. She was hit with a wave of vertigo and lurched dangerously. Wyatt let out a shout as she teetered but Ahamo had her in an instant and held her up.

"I think one tumble is enough for the day. Let me help." The trip to her room was interesting to say the least.

Author Note: I hope you guys enjoyed DG on drugs. She was a blast to write this chapter.


	23. Chapter 23

Disclaimer: Nope, don't own it.

Deeg was curled up on the bed clutching at a pillow as if it would ground her in some way. He knew she didn't like the vapors in the slightest but she'd have to deal with the effects for at least another hour. The poor kid didn't like being out of control like that, but despite her insistence that she would have preferred the pain he thought otherwise. Healing as deep as Raw went was excruciating even if it saved her life and was relatively fast. The viewer had done her a favor sparing her from it.

"Hey, Wyatt?"

"Yeah, Kid?" He asked as he looked down at her. She had her eyes pressed shut tightly and was apparently focusing on breathing at a very steady pace to avoid another emotional outburst.

"At the risk of sounding terribly needy would you please get me some water? I'd get it myself but I'd most likely end up either crying uncontrollably at the sink or laughing hysterically at the faucet."

His lip twitched. "I think I can probably manage that."

Reaching out blindly she patted the side of his leg. "Good man."

Shaking his head he turned and left her bedroom. He caught sight of Ahamo lounging casually near a window and shut the door behind him. He had no doubt that the consort had picked up what was going on between him and Deeg. It would have been fairly obvious to anyone with any sense after their display on the staircase. Thinking the former seeker was unobservant was foolish at best and suicidal at worst. Other than the possibility that he might get stabbed in the next few minutes he wasn't sorry for it. Deeg was hurt, afraid, and drugged. Him staying close had helped calm her down as much as it was possible given her condition.

"DG'll be fine in a few hours. I think she's spinnin' down."

The other man wasn't fooled in the slightest. Ahamo eyed him dangerously. He held his ground, body stiff, but conveying no sense of remorse whatsoever. They stared at one another for a long time before the consort finally spoke. "She hasn't drained herself like that before. Not even when she killed the witch. When the vapor's wear off she's going to hurt."

His hand twitched ever so slightly at that response but he went with it. "Why?"

"Mages react differently to drains, but by the way her hand was tensed before Raw started to heal her I'm guessing she reacts the same way Lavender does. Her muscles all tense up."

That was… strange. "I see."

"For some reason sugar helps. Don't ask me why, I don't know. I'll have something sent up. Make sure she eats it."

"Don't you want to stay with her?"

"Yes, but someone needs to work out what blew up. I have a feeling I have more experience with booby traps than anyone else in the palace." That was probably true. He didn't really want to know what kind of damage the man could cause if he got mad. Not after fifteen years in the Realm of the Unwanted. He'd probably learned more about underhanded behavior than anyone ever needed to. "And I think you've had enough for the day. From what I understand your son was attacked too. You need a break or you'll start slipping up."

His jaw ticked slightly. "I'm fine."

"Fine my Otherside ass." Humor flared in him briefly. Ahamo did have a way with words. "You'd tell anyone else the same thing. I don't want you near anything related to this or the army for at least twelve hours. A mistake could mean one of us dies. I'd rather we avoid that."

He understood this was an order from the consort more than a friendly suggestion. That didn't mean he didn't see the logic of it. Since he agreed he didn't put up a fight. "Fine."

Ahamo pushed off the wall and walked toward the door. When he was in front of him he paused and the hair on the back of his neck stood up as the consort locked eyes with him. The atmosphere around the other man had shifted dramatically in the time it took his heart to beat. "For the record I like you. But you're a damn sight older then my daughter. If you play with her, hurt her, or otherwise look at her funny I will kill you." His eyes glinted dangerously. "And no one will ever know what happened."

He was very sure Ahamo wasn't bluffing. He cut to the chase. "I love your daughter. This isn't a game."

Ahamo made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a growl before leaving his space and exiting the rooms. When the door shut he let out a breath he wasn't aware he was holding and relaxed. That had been interesting to say the least. He spent the next five minutes or so getting used to the rooms and locating a glass. Someone had stored some inside a decorative cupboard in a corner. He returned to the bedroom and crossed to the bathroom as the kid cracked her eye open. When he came back in she was sitting up with her legs crossed below her. This was oddly similar to the last time she'd had a hang over except she seemed to be in less physical pain. Right now she looked more annoyed than ready to knock herself over the head to make the hangover stop.

He handed her the glass and sat down next to her on the bed. "Thanks, Wyatt."

"You're welcome, Darlin'."

"And thanks for the last hour or so. I'm sure that was fun for you."

He rubbed her shoulder. "I think I should be thankin' you. You did stop me from blowin' sky high."

She sipped the water as she looked down at the glass. "I'd prefer neither of us become crispy critters."

His lips twitched like mad for a moment before he noticed Deeg wasn't even slightly amused with this. She was paler than usual and the light that usually danced in her eyes had vanished. Deeg looked tired and upset. After she took another drink he carefully took the glass and set it on the bedside table. "Are you hurtin'?"

She sent him a false smile when she turned to him. "No, I'm fine."

"You just got hurled down a staircase goin' fast as a race horse and you're drained. You can't feel good."

"I really don't feel anything but embarrassed and slightly disassociated from my body." She lifted her hand a few inches directly over the top of her head. "I feel like my head is here and my body is sitting on the bed. On the up side I seem to be slowly coming down as the time ticks on by."

He kicked off his boots quickly and then removed his holster. Deeg watched him quietly but didn't ask any questions. That bothered him more than anything else. Sliding onto the bed he tossed a pillow behind him and propped himself against the headboard. Then he reached out and tugged her between his legs. When he had her nestled against him and her legs curled up over one of his he kissed the top of her head. "What's really the matter, Darlin'?" She shrugged as if it didn't matter and reached up to stroke her arm. "The talkin' has to work both ways."

"You almost got blown up." She said as she leaned into him.

"We both did."

"It was you they were after this time. They wouldn't have done that if it wasn't for me. I'm always getting you into trouble."

"Don't take all the credit. I promise I was gettin' into trouble long before I met you."

"Not like this."

"No, before I couldn't get out of it. At least now you're here to save me."

"Wyatt…" She sighed out. "This isn't the same as me letting you out of the suit."

"I don't see the difference. Except for the fire bit."

She turned her head into his shoulder. He rubbed her arm and waited. He felt she had more to say but he knew pushing her wouldn't get him anything. Eventually she cracked. She never could take silence. Got her every time with him. It always amused him when she tried to see if she could outlast him. He was sure it was some sort of game for her. She never did win it. "I was scared." She pulled in a slightly shuddering breath. "I'm tired of being scared all the time. And this time it wasn't just me I was scared for."

He slid his hand up to the side of her face. "I know." He said quietly as he tipped her head up. "I know this is bad. I'm sorry I can't get it to stop."

Her eyes were dark with fear as she tried to hide her emotions from him. She was awful at doing that. "This isn't your fault." She let her head rest back on his shoulder. "And you're okay so everything is fine." She shifted a little and he rubbed his thumb over her cheek. "I'll feel better in the morning when these stupid vapors wear off." She said as she shifted again.

"Why are you fidgetin'?"

"Sorry, a feel a little achy all of a sudden. It was just the fall. No big deal."

"Ahamo said you get sore when you drain yourself."

There was a slight pause. "How does he know that?"

"Apparently it runs in the family. He's sending up some sweets for you."

"Ummm, that's nice I guess."

He smiled at her bafflement over that random bit of information. "He said it'll help with the pain."

"Well that's totally random."

"Most things relatin' to you are." Reaching down he caught one of her hands and started to rub it. "Makes things more interestin'."

She relaxed into him further. "That feels nice."

"Turn around and I'll give you a neck rub."

"You don't need to do that."

"Doesn't mean I'm not goin' to. Go on." He patted her hip encouragingly. After the last hour all he wanted to do was have her feel better. This seemed like the best way to go about it.

Sitting up, she twisted so her back was to him and crossed her legs under her. Moving her hair over her shoulder he put his hands on he shoulders and started to massage her. She let out a relieved sigh. "God, you're the best man in the world. Both worlds." She corrected quickly.

"Not sure that's true but I appreciate the thought." He stayed gentle with his hands unsure how sore she really was. He didn't want to hurt her by being too aggressive on a knot in her back.

"It is _so _true." Her head tipped forward. "I'm sure."

"You're only sweet talkin' me so I won't stop."

She huffed out a laugh. "Yeah, that's it."

"I knew it."

"You are the detective in this relationship."

"I do detect some soreness." He replied as he worked his way slowly down her back. She straightened up as he went in an attempt to get his hands where she wanted them. He was about to ask her to take off her shirt to make this easier when there was a knock on the door. Getting up he grabbed his gun and left the bedroom. He opened the door cautiously and when he saw a steward with a tray full of food he let the man in just long enough to set it on a table. Then he practically chased the other man out and shut and locked the door behind him. No one else was getting in here tonight.

Picking up the tray he brought it into the bedroom to find the kid in the same place she'd been when he left. He set the platter down in front of her before putting his gun back in its holster. Deeg lifted the lid off curiously and he took that and set it on the floor beside the bed. They both looked at the assortment of treats and suddenly she snorted out a laugh. "I feel like I got a candy shop on a plate. You're going to have to help me eat some of this."

He glanced over the treats as he sat down and picked up a piece of chocolate. "This is all I'm eatin'. Last thing I need is too much sugar runnin' through me."

"You don't want a sugar rush when it's nearly midnight?" She asked sarcastically as she picked up a small square of caramel. "I'm not going to sleep for days."

"At least you won't be hurtin'." He popped the candy in his mouth and enjoyed the flavor of it as Deeg chewed her own. He wasn't going to admit it but he had a bit of a sweet tooth. If it hadn't been so late he would have eaten more, but between the hour and the events of the day the last thing he needed was to get more revved up. The kid hummed in agreement and slowly finished off the caramel.

"Too chewy." She commented as she decided what to eat next. He studied the options she had as well and when he spotted some strawberries covered in chocolate. His eyes hooded at the very thought of what he wanted to do and picked up the fruit by the small green leaves. As he did he caught her around the waist and pulled her between his legs so her side was against his chest. She glanced up at him curiously and he lifted the fruit up to her lips.

Her eyes lit with interest and she slowly opened her mouth at his request. Placing the fruit on her tongue she bit down and the chocolate crackled softly. He watched as she chewed the fruit and kissed her softly after she swallowed. The taste of the strawberry lingered on her lips and she moaned softly into him. He had an utterly erotic image of the kid coated in small drops of chocolate for him to lick away before she wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

Stroking her hair back he deepened the kiss quickly. He was usually the one that held them back, kept things slow, but he was wound up and Deeg was asking for him to be close. Letting her go briefly he grabbed the bottom of her shirt and pulled it up and over her head. The second he saw her skin his hot lust cooled to a dull roar. The kid was covered in bruises. Deeg noticed his sudden hesitance and twisted so she was kneeling in front of him. She caught his face so all he could look at was hers. "Don't think about it." She said softly.

"What?"

"Please, Wyatt. I need you to not think about the bruises right now."

He ran his hand over her cheek as her fingers slipped down to rest on his chest. "I don't want to hurt you."

"You won't." She kissed him. "You won't hurt me. You never hurt me." Her nimble fingers began to loosen his shirt buttons. He let her keep going as he bent his head so he could kiss her neck. She was right. He would never hurt her. When she felt him give into her she pressed herself against him as her movements became more aggressive.

He caught her hands and put them over his shoulders. "You have to let me be gentle with you, Darlin'." He couldn't get lost in this with her or he would hurt her.

She nodded in agreement and he held her close as he laid her back over the blankets. He let her go long enough to set the tray on the floor before returning his attention to Deeg. She reached for him and he settled down next to her. She got him out of his shirt quickly and then he started running his hands over her carefully. He'd found over the last week that Deeg was playful and inquisitive in bed. She had happily followed along with wherever he led them and occasionally got bold with him. He appreciated that but he knew practically everything they were doing was new for her. He could tell by the slight pauses between her movements and the way she would wait to see what he wanted before reacting. The girl was trying not to show it but it wasn't hard to work out.

He could tell her endless curiosity over all things was what was causing those adventurous moves of hers but he didn't want to push her too fast. He was obviously far more experienced then her. They weren't exactly learning at the same pace the way most couples did, not with their age difference, or a past marriage behind him. He was doing his best to keep her relaxed with what was happening between them. He didn't want to scare her with anything. Not that he was interested in introducing her to anything new tonight. Not with her hurt and looking for comfort.

Kissing her gently he started to peel her clothes off slowly, doing his best to ignore her discolored body. He pressed his lips over her skin as he exposed it and Deeg sighed below him and tangled her fingers in his hair. A shudder tore down him as her fingers grazed his scalp and she murmured his name encouragingly. When the last of her clothing was off her he moved back up her body and kissed her deeply. Deeg wrapped one of her legs over his hip and ran her hands over his shoulders and back.

Stroking the soft skin of her arms he nuzzled her neck and coaxed her with soft touches and easy kisses. When she started to squirm and pant beneath him he slid off her to take off the rest of his clothes. When he got back on the bed Deeg sat up and crawled into his lap. Surprised by the move he held her as she settled over his legs. Realizing this was probably a good position with her bruised he didn't object. She would be able to control the situation and he wouldn't have to worry about putting too much weight on her.

Holding her close he kissed her as she positioned herself and slid down over him. He groaned into her mouth and she clutched at his shoulders. Running his hands over her skin he kissed her as they rocked together. "You like it when we're together like this." He murmured into the skin below her jaw right before he nipped at her.

"Always." She panted back.

He lifted his hips as she slid down and she let out a whimper. "But like this." He lifted his head and bit her bottom lip carefully. "In this position." He tilted his hips again to prove his point and her nails dug into his skin. "Tell me why it feels so good."

She gasped as they drove one another up. "You can touch me."

Ah. That made sense. His tactile girl liked this position because he could run his hands all over her. So he did. He let his palms flow up her arms and down her back. Deeg gasped in pleasure as he stroked her and he fought to keep himself with her. He was heading toward the edge and wanted her to go with him. It always took all his control to hold back when he was in her like this. She made his head spin and his blood roar like he was a teenager. It was crazy what she did to him. And she did it without even trying.

Dragging his hand down he let it rest on her hip and stretched his fingers out so he could rub her center. She jerked and called his name. Grunting as she lost her pace he did his best to help her move with him. He groaned her name as she got jerkier and rubbed her more quickly. Deeg made it two more thrust before she came apart over him. He held her tightly as he followed her into the abyss and managed, somehow, to stay upright while they lost it.

The kid held onto him and he let go of her so he could throw his arm behind him and lower them back down to the bed. Deeg lay over him breathing heavily and he ran his hand up and down her spine. She let her head rest on his chest and set her hand on his shoulder. "I feel better."

He grunted out a laugh and lifted his head long enough kissed the crown of her head. "Good."

Turning her head slightly she kissed his skin. "So…"

"So?" He cracked an eye open and looked down at her.

"The strawberry thing was sexy."

Both his eyes opened. "Was it?"

"Yes, yes it was."

His thought about the chocolate resurfaced and he rolled over so her back was on the bed. He eyed her for a moment. "Are you still sore?"

"Not really. I think the sugar did help." She seemed genuinely surprised.

"In that case-" Leaning over the bed he grabbed at the tray once he spotted a bowl of chocolate pieces. A little magic to heat it and this would be perfect. "-why don't we tweak that idea a bit?" She tilted her head to the side curiously and he smirked as he lifted his arm and moved back over her. This would be fun.

Author Note: New chapter! Yay!


	24. Chapter 24

Disclaimer: Tin Man is in no way my property. I just like to chill with the characters.

Deeg looked at him with the most innocently baffled expression and he fought to either not laugh or pounce her. The two reactions were fighting to win out against one another and he forcefully shoved them away. Moving to her side he took her wrist and kissed her fingertips gently. Then he set her hand on the bowl of chocolates. "Melt these."

Understand flashed over her face all at once before a light blush settled over her cheeks. The kid didn't back down though. Sitting up slightly she flickered with a small spark of magic and the bowl heated up. She must have bounce back a little in the last couple of hours, at least enough to perform a small trick. A few seconds later and the chocolate had lost its shape and pooled inside the container. Deeg let go of the dish and he set it on the small table next to the bed for a moment. Then he tugged on her hips so she slid down the bed. When she was laid out so she was flat over the mattress he kissed her deeply. Her neck arched as she pressed close and he pulled away slowly. Kissing her once more quickly, he stroked her cheek. "Stay still."

He saw her shudder out of the corner of his eye as he leaned away to grab the bowl. Dipping his finger in it to be sure it wouldn't burn her he was pleased to find it warm, but not hot. Going back he hovered over her and carefully tipped the dish. Liquid chocolate dripped down and landed on her left shoulder. She twitched slightly and he tisked at her. "I thought I said not to move?" She opened her mouth to say something but he swooped in faster than she could. "I'll have to start over." He murmured right before he licked the chocolate away.

Deeg let out a small moan as he sucked on her skin. "Wyatt."

He hummed as he lifted his head and chided her gently. "Don't move this time." With that he tipped the bowl and made a thin trail of chocolate from her shoulder to her chest. He could see her fighting not to squirm as he circled her left breast. Moving down he made swirling patterns with the candy over her stomach and around her navel. The kid's hands clutched at the blankets under her as he worked. He might not be the artist she was but he could make some pretty patterns over her skin this way. He knew that taking his time was driving her crazy but he refused to speed up. Half the fun of this was making her wait, the anticipation of what she knew he was going to do. So he drew out his sweet new project at a terribly meticulous pace.

Fifteen minutes in and he paused for a second to see how much of the melted candy he had left. Deeg spoke for the first time since this started. "Are you having fun?"

His lip twitched slightly as he assessed how much more of her he could cover. "Have to say I am."

She tilted her head slightly so she could see what he'd done. "This is lovely." He could tell from her tone that she was repressing a lot of emotion, most of it lust. "Are you almost done?"

"Almost." He agreed as he tipped the dish over again. Chocolate swirled over her thigh and she bit her lip as she let her head fall back. As the last of it emptied out over her skin he set the bowl on the table and sat back so he could admire his creation. His eyes hooded in approval. Small patterns that looked like climbing ivy covered her from just above her knee to her collarbone. Committing the image to memory he hummed down at her. "This is a good look for you, Darlin'."

"Naked and coated in chocolate?"

He chuckled down at her as he rubbed the side of her thigh. "Yes."

"Wyatt?"

"Hmm?"

"How long are you going to make me stay still?"

He chuckled and leaned down so he was holding himself over her with his arms locked. He was being careful not to touch the chocolate and as he hovered over her navel he saw her eyes darken to a beautiful navy blue. "A few more minutes."

"Cain!" He laughed at her demanding cry and bent his head to lick a small dot of the candy off her side. She sucked in a breath at the feeling and he smirked into her skin. Her arm started to come up, so she could push his head back to her side he was sure, and he caught it before it got an inch away from the sheets.

"No movin'. You'll ruin it."

"You're killing me." She panted as he licked another spot away with agonizing slowness.

"Consider this a lesson in patience." She whined and he continued after sucking on the skin over her belly button. "Or self-control." He was having far too much fun dragging this out.

"I hate you so much right now." She gasped as he shifted up and licked her shoulder.

Chuckling softly he kissed her neck affectionately before going back to the chocolate. "I'm goin' to take that as a compliment."

She let out a strangled sigh as he began to work his way downward. He licked and nipped the candy away and by the time he was at her chest he could smell how aroused she was. A flush covered her whole body and she was gripping at the sheets so hard her knuckles were white. He could tell it was taking all her willpower not to move and he stroked her nipple with his tongue before wrapping his lips around it.

She cried out and he teased and touched her breasts for several minutes. Unable to stop herself she started to arch off the bed toward him. He raised himself up higher so she wouldn't brush against him before heading south again. When she realized he'd gotten all the chocolate off her upper half she let go of the sheets in favor of him. He didn't stop her this time and her fingers buried themselves as far into his hair as they could. "Fuck, Wyatt!"

He raised his eyebrow at the curse and knew she was more than halfway lost in this. She didn't curse all that often but she clearly wasn't thinking straight. Proud of that he ran his tongue around her belly button briefly before slipping farther down her. Opening her legs he settled himself between them and tossed the one that wasn't painted in chocolate over his shoulder. Deeg flexed her foot immediately in and attempt to push him where she really wanted. He resisted and turned his head to the side so he could get at the last of the candy.

"Wyatt!" She tugged at him again. "Please!"

"You still have chocolate on you, Darlin'." He was teasing her mercilessly and he knew it. He was sure she would find some way to get even in the near future but at the moment he was so amused he didn't care.

"You're evil, you know that?" She asked more than a little desperately as he sucked on her thigh. She threw her head back. "God!"

He laughed into her skin and she tugged at his hair in retribution. "Easy!" He reprimanded as he took his time on the last few licks. "I'm too young to go bald."

She didn't have a retort for that as he finally licked away the last of the candy and started to kiss his way up her inner thigh. Her breathing got noticeably irregular and he did his best to focus on her instead of his own arousal. Considering he'd had her less than thirty minutes ago he was a bit surprised that he felt like he hadn't been with her in weeks. He could have jumped her this very instant and he was sure it would be satisfying for both of them. But he wanted her more than satisfied. He wanted her limp and sated after he made her come over and over. He loved when that happened. When she was sweet and pliant against him, because of him.

When he kissed her just above her curls she actually begged. It was sexy as hell. "Please, Tin Man." He rewarded the plea by finally licking her where she wanted him to. She let out a low wail and her nails scratched at his scalp. The sting sent his arousal higher and he nibbled at the juncture between her legs. Her body curled up and he snapped his hand out to keep her against the mattress. Deeg pressed as close to him as she could and it took most of his strength to keep her down. His name tumbled from her lips like a cross between a prayer and sob and he knew this wasn't going to take near as long as he'd thought.

Reaching up with his free hand he pressed two of his fingers inside her as he wrapped his lips around her clit and sucked hard. The kid went stiff as a board and screamed in pleasure. Twisting his hand he pushed up and found the soft spot inside her that made her feel so good. Deeg spasmed as she clamped down around him and cried out to him as she spiraled out of control. When she started to try to jerk away from him he took his hand away and she slumped to the blankets. Kissing his way up her body he hooked his arm under her knee and pushed it up right before he pressed inside her.

The kid wasn't expecting him in her so soon and the shock and feel of it threw her over again. She gasped and clutched at his upper arms as she clamped around him so hard he nearly came before he was all the way in her. He groaned as he went still. He flexed his entire body down to his toes to hold onto his sanity as she shuddered through her orgasm. Gasping her way down her hands slowly loosened their death grip and he kissed her hard. She returned the kiss as best she could in her state and he bumped her nose with his. "Are you with me?"

"I'm not even sure I'm on the same plane of existence after that." She choked out.

Bending his head down he kissed her neck a little frantically. "I can't hold out long like this."

In response her other leg wrapped over his and she pressed against him. Taking that as a go ahead he started to move. She rocked with him as he fought to keep control and when he started to grunt form the effort and speed up she clutched at the back of his neck and rasped into his ear. "Let go, Wyatt."

Growling, he fought his instincts down and she felt him fighting over her. Kissing the side of his face she tightened her inner muscles when he slipped fully inside her and he let out a shout as he lost out against the rush of pleasure. The girl was so damn stubborn about getting her way. Gripping at her thigh he held her tightly as he cried out her name into her shoulder. Curling up into her he jerked as he was overwhelmed. Deeg ran her hands up over his shoulders and down his back as he came. A minute later and he slumped over her. She kissed him as her fingers traced his body.

Without opening his eyes he let her leg slid back down to the mattress and moved the arm he was holding it with slip between them. He'd be damned if she didn't come one more time. Finding her center he rubbed her gently. She sucked in a sharp breath and he raised his head off her shoulder. He watched her intently as he nudged her back up the ledge. Her face was flushed and her eyes hazy as she neared the edge. Then she was falling off it again and he caught her call on his lips. When she was done he rolled off her.

Deeg was pulling in ragged gasps as he collapsed next to her. He pulled her under his arm with an extreme amount of effort. The kid turned slightly and pressed against him. When she caught her breath she mumbled into his skin. "You didn't leave me any chocolate to play with."

He laughed breathlessly and reached blindly for the blanket. "You can go back to bein' the artist some other night. I wanted my own turn."

"That seems fair." She agreed as she twisted in the opposite direction and pulled his arm around her waist. He spooned up around her and she ran her fingertips down his arm in a barely there touch. His eyelids slid closed in contentment at the feeling. He loved how easily affectionate the kid was. He was the exact opposite. It was hard for him to reach out to people, even her and Jeb. It hadn't always been this way for him, but a lot had changed after the iron maiden. He used to be more open. He used to be normal. When he was young and thought he knew everything. "What are you thinking about, Wyatt?"

"Nothin'." He kissed the back of her head.

"And you think I'm bad at lying?" Her fingers continued to dance over his skin. "Tell me."

By now he should really know better than to ignore her questions. It never got him anywhere at all. She'd just pester him until she found out. "I was thinkin' about when I was younger."

"Anything specific? Or just a younger version of yourself in general?"

"In general."

"What were you like?" She asked curiously.

"What were you like?" He threw back.

She was quiet for a second. "Different. You wouldn't have liked me very much."

He frowned slightly. "I'm sure that isn't true."

"Yeah, it is." Her hands stopped and twined with his. "When you told me I'd run at the first sign of trouble you pissed me off because I thought you were right. I always ran. It was like my default or something. If things didn't go my way I figured there was no reason for me to stay. I was restless and in trouble all the time. I had two jobs and went to school and I was bored out of my mind. I couldn't stay still or decide what to do with myself. It drove everyone crazy. I drove myself crazy. I felt like I was out of place all the time and no matter what I did I couldn't get anything to click the way it was supposed to."

"Click?"

She struggled to articulate the concept for him for several long seconds. "Have you ever woken up and just felt right? Like you were at home and everything was the way it was supposed to be?"

Quite often now a day. He remembered another time when that was true too. "Yes."

"I never felt that way. Not one time. Not until I got back here. I never even knew you could feel at home until I was back. It was like I was breathing right for the first time even though we were running for our lives. It's still weird to me."

That must have been awful for her. To feel so out of place for so long and have no idea why things were wrong. "You never told me that before."

"I didn't want you to know." She was looking at their hands as she spoke.

"Why not?"

"I just…" She trailed off for a few seconds before starting again. "I didn't have many friends in Kansas. I had people I hung around with but you know, not really the same thing. I didn't want you to think I was even freakier then you already knew I was. You don't think very highly of flighty people. I wanted you to like me."

"I always liked you."

"Even though I drove you crazy?"

"Especially because you drove me crazy."

He saw her smile. "You would."

His lip twitched up. "I was headstrong."

"You? No." Sarcasm was heavy in her voice and if he'd had the energy he would have shaken his head.

"You probably would have slapped me across the face within two minutes of meeting me if we'd met when I was younger."

She giggled softly. "You're exaggerating."

"Don't think I am. I could be a bit full of myself given the chance. I tried to keep it under control but sometimes it got away from me. Curse of all young men. Knowing everything. It's a terrible burden to bear." She laughed again and he smiled. "If we'd met when I was younger I doubt we'd have gotten along. You don't have much patience for upstarts unless the Headcase is involved."

"Well Glitch is an anomaly unto himself. You have to love him."

"You're just biased because he helped you escape the Western Guild."

"That and he drives you crazier than me. It's fun to watch." She turned her head. "Did you drive your parents crazy?"

"Of course I did. I was always gettin' into tussles at school. Couldn't stay out of trouble for the life of me. Tin men used to show up at my door first thing when someone came in bloody." His lip twitched. "But I was always on the right side."

She huffed in amusement. "So logically you became a cop."

He smiled in amusement. "Why do you think I was so good at it? Once you know how to get in and out of trouble it's easy to work out what other people are doin'."

"You're serious aren't you?"

"Why are you surprised?"

"I always pictured you as the quiet kid in the back of the class."

He barked out a laugh. "Can't tell you how much my mother would have preferred that. I had to be the best and the toughest. I got in fights every other day. My father was at his wits end through most of my childhood and my mother was constantly tryin' to figure out how she got one child that couldn't stay out of mischief and another that couldn't find it if her life depended on it."

There was a brief pause as Deeg twisted that out. "You have a sister?"

"I did once." He answered as he brushed her hair back. "She died a long time ago."

She softened. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault." He stroked her hair comfortingly. "She was brave when she died."

"What happened?"

"It was early in the war. The longcoats were sweeping through the towns they knew would be a problem and burnin' them to the ground." He hadn't thought about this in a long time. "Bridget was a school teacher, she was a good one too." He had always been proud of his baby sister. She had worked hard and did what she had always wanted to do. "The longcoats came during the day." He saw the disgust and horror in the kid's eyes. "She got all the little ones out."

"That's why you joined the resistance." It wasn't a question.

"It is." He sighed. "They killed my sister and I knew if they were targeting kids it would get worse. It scared me. It scared me to let my seven year old outside let alone put him in school. That's not how things are supposed to be."

Turning all the way back around Deeg put her small hand on his cheek. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"Helping me change them back. I couldn't have done any of that without you."

He kissed her sweetly. "You don't give yourself enough credit."

"Neither do you. Good thing we're here to tell each other how awesome we are." He chuckled as he kissed her again.

"How true." He watched her for a second before telling her what happened while she was in here by herself. "Ahamo knows."

"Ahamo knows what?" She asked as she stretched against him like a contented cat.

"That we're sleepin' together."

She froze. "He what?"

"He threatened to kill me after tellin' me he liked me."

Her face flushed three shades of pink before settling on the one closest to red. "I see."

"You don't need to be embarrassed. I think he knows how this works."

"I can't believe you just said that." She slapped her hand over her face. "Multiple visuals I don't need in my head." Rubbing her face quickly she lowered her hand. "Raw knows too. So does Az."

"Which means Glitch does too. The Headcase is your sister's confidant. She's told him." There was no point in pretending those two weren't thick as thieves, and three times as dangerous when they were let out on their own. He was shocked the Tower was still standing after they tore through it for information.

She gnawed on her lip. "It's not that I care who knows, but you need to tell Jeb before someone else does. I don't think that's something he'll want to hear through the grapevine."

That confused him. "What does fruit have to do with this?"

"It means through a line of gossip."

That was a strange turn of phrase but Deeg was right about that. He had just gotten back on good terms with his son. He didn't want to get in a fight with him and this seemed like something that might cause one. "I'll talk to him tomorrow."

"Do you want me with you?"

"Maybe after. That's somethin' I should do by myself." That way if Jeb felt like ranting she wouldn't be there to hear it.

"Okay." Kissing her forehead he let her go to turn off the light. Deeg reached out for the blanket and he helped her cover them as his exhaustion got the better of him. "Goodnight."

"Night, Kid." Rubbing her back he let himself sink into the pillow and sleep rolled over him.

Author Note: Hey guys. I've noticed that the reviews for this story are pretty slim compared to the other one's I've written (Not that more is necessarily better) and I'm not sure if it's because of the time between posts or if people just aren't reading these anymore. So unless I get an outcry to keep writing knew stories this might be my last one for Tin Man. Let me know if you guys want to keep reading because if you do I'll keep writing. I have several new ideas to try. If not it might be time to turn my muse loose somewhere else. Thanks for any thoughts or input.

~Jessy


	25. Chapter 25

Disclaimer: Not mine, not mine, not mine.

She knocked on her sister's door impatiently. When she didn't get an answer she pounded and yelled. "Az! Time to get up and play with your baby sister!" The guards standing in the hall glanced at her and she saw them fighting off smiles as they tried to be tough and menacing. What a waste of time. The only one that could see them was her. Having accidently stumbled over a few of them loitering, she was under no delusion that they were this scary in real life.

There was movement, and a few moments later Az opened the door. She tried not to laugh. Her sister's hair was a tangled mess and she was clutching a robe closed around her neck. Her dark eyes were bleary with sleep and she was clearly grumpy at being woken up. Az wasn't much for drama but she did like her beauty sleep. Today she was going to have to go without. They had things to do. Her sister wasn't aware of that yet because she was greeted with an extremely unfriendly glare. "It is five in the morning."

"I know."

"Why aren't you sleeping?"

"I did for about an hour but then I woke up and I feel totally wired. And I figured since we had stuff to do we might as well start now." Twenty minutes ago her eyes had snapped open and she'd known without a doubt that sleep was no longer an option.

She'd snuck out of bed to let Wyatt rest, after last night he so deserved it, and had her mind set on getting Az so they could work on making multiple doubles. The sooner they did that the better. Then the tin man could put his plan in motion and they could go back to a life that wasn't full of explosions or sneak attacks, at least for a while. She was fairly proud that she'd taken a bath, cleaned up, and dressed without waking him. Either she was sneakier than she thought, he was now used to her moving around, or he was dead tired. With the night they'd had she was guessing it was the last one with a dash of the second. It was amazing how much could change in a few weeks.

Az never blinked. "It is _five_ in the morning."

"You said that already." And people accused her of not listening. That was crap. She always listened. Sometimes she simply chose to ignore what they said. Huge difference.

"What is so important that it can't wait until seven?"

"I'll tell you if you let me in." With the way things were blowing up and creepy people were sneaking in she didn't even trust their guards anymore. She hated that. She hated that she had become nearly as paranoid as the tin man and Jeb. Nearly, of course. No one else could come close to the two of them. It was downright creepy how much those two had in common when you got right down to it. She was afraid to know what might happen if she and Cain stayed together and had their own children. Not that she'd spent much time thinking about it but really. Talk about a dangerous baby.

She took a step forward and Az shoved her hand out and stopped her dead. Stumbling back, she glanced at her sister. Her robe had fallen open at the quick move and she saw her sister had a pretty green nightgown on underneath. She didn't fully understand why she was hiding it because it was a very trendy looking piece of sleepwear.

Az spoke, interrupting her admiration. "Is anyone going to die in the next three hours if this isn't done right now?"

She thought about that briefly. "I can't say for sure but my guess would be no-" Az stepped back and slammed the door in her face. Her nose was nearly smacked off and she let out a small yelp. Then she banged on the door. "Hey! Totally uncalled for and overdramatized dismissal! Open the door!"

"I will at seven." She heard through the wooden paneling.

"But, Az! I'll get you coffee! We-"

"Seven!" Her sister shouted.

Pouting at the door she grumbled and turned around. Kindly the guards avoided her eyes as she walked dejectedly by them. She supposed she could go get started by herself if Az wasn't going to get up to help her. Some sister she had. Heading toward the library she skipped down a few stairs as she tried to work out what this was going to take to make more than one copy of herself.

Other than a rather extreme amount of magic from both of them she would need Az to make the copies. Then she could stabilize them while her sister created more. That should work if they practiced. Her sister would get to craft her magic like a flimsy gauze and she could make it strong as steel when she was finished. Really, it should all work out if they melded together carefully enough. Her confidence grew the closer she got to her destination.

Turning into the large room that housed all the books she flicked her hand and her magic flared out. All the lights came on with a flash and she hummed contentedly. She had rebounded fast enough, although even the candy she'd consumed couldn't stop her body from aching. She felt bruised all over, or maybe like she'd worked out far too hard the day before. Ignoring the feeling she flipped a piece of candy out of her pocket and popped the treat in her mouth. On her way out of her room she'd shoved a handful of sweets in her pockets. Almost immediately the pain subsided. Pleased, she attacked the nearest bookshelf and began searching for any book that might help her figure out the best way to assemble multiple illusions. Since she had never read a spell about it she figured a rather hefty amount of improvisation would be needed, but any information would be helpful at this point. Maybe if this worked she could add her own creation to the library. That would be really satisfying come to think about it.

An hour later she was cursing her stature as she put her feet on the bottom of one of the many shelves and reached up toward a book she could see but not reach. She thought the thing was silently mocking her hanging just out of reach the way it was, but that was only a guess. She had little to no insight n the thought processes of magi books. An arm appeared out of nowhere behind her and plucked the volume out of it's place. It lowered it to her and she tossed her head back. Wyatt was behind her and she smiled up at him happily.

"Good morning." She chirped perkily.

"Good morning." She took the tome and spun around to face him. He had a cup of steaming coffee in his left hand and he looked tired. He should have slept more but she supposed with his office blown up, his son attacked, and her nearly dying he didn't have the motivation to relax long enough to laze about in bed. "I woke up and you were gone."

"Oh." She kissed his cheek briefly before going to the table she'd been piling her finds up on. Considering what they'd done last night she was terribly distracted from him at the moment. "I couldn't sleep and I thought I'd figure out how to make a bunch of me. I like your plan. At least the overall idea. You're going to have to hammer out the details if I can get this to work though, Tin Man."

He followed her and set the mug down before tugging gently on her arm. She turned to face him and he kissed her forehead gently. She could suddenly see he was frustrated and trying to hide it. Usually she noticed things like that. She must be more off her game than she thought after her drain and lack of sleep. "Could you tell me before you leave next time?"

"You'd rather I wake you up then let you sleep?" She questioned. To her that was horribly wrong. Sleep should be savored like fine wine. Especially when it was so hard to come by anymore.

"Yes, I didn't know where you were. I don't like havin' you up and vanish on me."

Her eyes softened. "I'm sorry." She leaned into him in apology. Of course he wouldn't like that. How stupid of her. "That didn't occur to me. I thought it would be better to let you sleep."

"I appreciate the consideration, but wake me up. I want to know you left on your own."

"I will." When she went up on her toes he lowered his head so she could peck him on the lips. When she rocked back down to the flats of her feet she sent him a smile. "I thought you were going to see Jeb?"

"I wanted to be sure you were okay first. I doubt Jeb is up yet at any rate."

"I doubt anyone is. Az wasn't very nice about helping me this morning." She turned her attention back to her books as she rolled her shoulders in an effort to loosen them up. "Although I suppose she'll be here in a bit. She indicated seven was an appropriate time to begin planning the downfall of evil. I feel when evil strokes there shouldn't be a set time to eradicate it. After all, time is a human construct to begin with. And if that's the case I don't see why we have to adhere to it so strictly."

"Is this your way of trying to explain away being late to a meeting at some point in time?"

She shrugged thoughtfully. "I could use it for sure. I'll have to be careful about who the meeting is with though. Maybe the trade guild. They bother me all the time. I could bother them back with logical, illogical reasoning."

Cain rubbed the bridge of his nose at her rambling. It was far too early for him to follow any of it and she wasn't even bothering to make it make sense. She was just talking. "I'm sure you could."

"I'm sure of it. I don't know what else to do with those people. You won't shoot them for me."

"I can't just shoot people because they annoy you."

"Excuses. I think you don't love me. If you did you would make them leave me alone."

"That's it. Don't worry about being an ambassador or the princess of peace. We'll destroy them all and start over." He changed the subject after the sarcastic and dry agreement. "Why are you wigglin' like that?"

"Huh?" She suddenly noticed she was shifting her weight. With a small grumbled she pulled out another piece of candy and started chewing. When she swallowed she felt better again. "Apparently the candy only works for about twenty minutes."

Wyatt frowned and put his hands on her shoulders as he stepped behind her. He began to rub her firmly and she leaned back into him. Tingles of pleasure raced down her spine and her eyes hooded in pleasure. He was so good at this. She wondered what it would take to bribe him to give her a full massage that was uninterrupted by people knocking on the door or work. Most likely all she'd have to do was ask, but that really seemed like a lot. She wouldn't mention it. "Maybe you should go back to bed, Deeg. How long were you sleepin'?"

"Not very long. I'll probably crash in a couple of hours, but until then I'll be productive." Leaning back into his chest she smiled up at him. His hands squeezed down her arms before wrapping around her waist and holding her against him. His eyes were far away as he stared past her and at the piles of books she'd created.

"You need to find Raw once he wakes up so he can take care of the rest of your bruises."

"I will." She put her arms over his. "You finish your coffee and go talk to Jeb before you work yourself up any more."

He sent her a disbelieving look. "I'm not workin' myself up."

"Liar." Turning in his embrace she wrapped her arms around his middle. "He's your son, Wyatt. He'll love you whether I'm here or not."

He sighed and turned his attention to her face. "It took me two years to get things settled between us. I didn't like havin' my own son feel like a stranger to me. That's not how it's supposed to be. I want my family to be a family. Right now everything's separated. He's already worked up about what happened to Olivia and Sam."

Reaching up she cupped his face. She needed to diffuse him. "Okay. What do you need from me to make that happen?"

His eyes warmed considerably. "Right now I don't need you to do anything but work on this spell."

"But you'll let me know when I need to change tactics?"

"If it comes to that. I'm sure I'm makin' too much of this." Bending his head down he kissed her warmly before letting her go. "Make sure you eat somethin' other than sugar this mornin'."

She rolled her eyes and began to flip through pages with one hand as she scribbled notes with the other. "Away with you. You have a general to talk to and I have an illusion spell to break down and rebuild from scratch." She shook her head. "And I thought algebra was hard." The tin man stood where he was beside her and she kicked his boot gently. "Standing here and admiring me, while flattering, is not going to get anything accomplished."

"I'm goin'." He sighed as he turned toward the door.

He made it two feet before she looked back up at him. "Hey, Wyatt?" He paused and turned his attention to her. "Be careful, all right?"

He nodded seriously as she was grateful he was taking her fears of him getting hurt more seriously than he had last night. "I will." With that he stepped out into the hall and vanished. She stared after him for several long seconds as anxiety rolled around her stomach before she returned her attention to the books. If she dwelled on her worry she wouldn't get anything done and eventually one of them really would die. Focusing on her task she pulled out a clean sheet of paper and started making a diagram. She thought she might have a tentative idea of what they needed to do now but this was going to be hardcore trial and error for her and Az.

By the time she'd destroyed her first two sketches, both of them had been far too simplistic, her sister made an appearance. She was dressed in a simple dress, her preferred attire, and seemed much more willing to be awake than she had several hours ago. "Okay. What are we doing?"

She nodded toward the assortment of material as she drew meticulously. "Wyatt had a good idea yesterday before his office blew up. I think between us we can-"

"His office blew up?" Her sister cut in.

Surprised, she looked up. How had she not heard about this? "Yeah."

Alarm filled her sister. "Is he hurt? What happened?"

"He's fine. There was a booby trap on his door. Luckily he heard the bomb before it went off and I shimmered us out-"

"You were there?" She thought her sister might start to hyperventilate or melt something in rage. With her it could go either way.

"Everyone is fine-"

Her sister puffed up. "You were nearly blown up and everything is fine? You could have been killed! You could have been hurt!"

You know what? She was going to skip over her flightless journey down the staircase for the moment. She didn't need Az worked up any higher than she already was. "But everything is fine. Can you help me please? If we can do this I think we can get Vy-sor."

Az pushed her rage down and picked up one of the discarded sheets of paper. Her lips moved silently as she read the notes scrawled around the page. Her eyebrows came together as a delicate frown overcame her. "Multi layer illusions?" She picked up another page as she sat down. "Deeg, this is going to be impossible."

"I disagree. Nearly impossible perhaps, but I have yet to meet impossible."

Az muttered something under her breath as she picked up one of the pencils and began to change the most recently disregarded sketch. "You'll have to add at least five more layers."

"I thought about that but we need too many separate illusions to sustain that kind of power."

"How many are you envisioning?"

"Optimistically seven, but realistically I think we could hold five together."

Her sister scribbled some more. "Three of you and two of me or the other way around?"

"That's up to the tin man. This is his idea. I'm not entirely sure where he wants this ambush of his to take place. I don't know which one of us Vy-sor wants dead more either." She dragged a book to her. "It could be five of you and none of me by the time this is done."

"That could make a difference."

"How does that make a difference? They're illusions either way."

"But they'll act differently. It will strain our magic in very distinctive ways. We'll need to be ready for the difference."

She threw herself back in her chair with a frustrated breath. "Great. I hadn't even thought of that."

"Which is why I'm here." Her sister had gone calm and soothing. "Let's start at the middle and work our way out." She stood up and sorted through the books on the table. "And there are a few books we'll need that you haven't pulled. I'll go get them if you get some more paper. I have a feeling this is going to require a lot of diagrams."

"Do you think I should get Toto?"

Az nodded as she held one book open and ran her finger down it as she read the passage. "It couldn't hurt. He's probably better at nit picky mechanics than both of us combined. We're going to need that at the base of this or the illusions will unravel before we're even halfway done." She closed the cover. "And how long do we need to keep these running?"

"As long as possible."

"Go get, Tutor." Her sister walked toward the back. "Then we can get started."

She leaned back and called after her. "I've been started for two hours!"

"Then we'll get started again the right way."

"That hurts me, Az!" She stuck her tongue out at her retreating figure before getting up. If her sister was going to get prissy about this she was just going to have to outshine her. It was the only course of action.

Author Note: Soooo sorry this took so long. There were many things happening in my life but I won't bore you with reality. Also, after the response I got to my last author's note I will continue to go on with this genra since so many of you are still reading ;) Enjoy, and I'll get the next chapter out much sooner than this one.


	26. Chapter 26

Disclaimer: Tin Man is not my property. Never was.

Five hours into making the spell with Toto and Az and she was forced to call it quits. She had pushed an hour past when she started to feel dizzy, and twenty minutes past the steady and growing ache that even candy couldn't stop. Actually, she probably would have pressed on in the interest of total destruction, but Az started going mother hen on her about her lack of normal skin pigmentation and increased clumsiness, so she retreated after minimal arguing about it. There was no need to alert Az to he fact that she was still injured and if she gave out without any sort of fight her sister would know something was up.

Her sister and teacher were debating some technical tweaking of the spell anyway, and she was no good at that. She was probably hindering the process as she threw out completely useless thoughts on the subject. Her knowledge on magical hypotheses and suppositions was on par with a five year old mage. Since that was the case she abandoned the library, and several ancient and scarily thick texts on illusion dispersion which were making her head hurt just looking at the covers, and headed toward Raw's room. Since it was nearly noon she figured it was a safe bet he was awake.

She was turning the corner to get to Raw's room when she was bowled over by something small and warm. Letting out a very unfeminine grunt she tumbled backward and landed on her already bruised back. Lifting her head she found herself covered by a boy of about four and blinked. The child was substantially less scary than anything she had been imagining when she got tackled. She relaxed at once and his dark eyes took her in. "Sorry."

"That's okay." She helped him off and he accidently stepped on her ribs. She winced again, but didn't want to make him feel worse about knocking her over so she kept her mouth closed. When he was on his feet she sat up. "Are you hurt?"

"No, mam." He grabbed one of her hands with both his small ones. This boy had excellent manners. "I didn't mean to knock you over. I wasn't watching where I was going."

"Hey, no worries." She got to her feet. "I don't watch where I'm going very often either."

"Really?"

"Really." She assured him. Then she held her hand down to him. "I'm DG. What's your name?"

"I'm Sam." He shook her hand firmly, his small fingers gripping hers in a surprisingly tight grip. Taking the little boy in she could tell why Wyatt liked him so much. He was adorable and outspoken. The tin man couldn't resist him she was sure.

"It's nice to meet you, Sam."

"You too." He replied perkily. "Do you live here?"

"I do."

"You must know where everything is!" He tugged on her shirtsleeve so she would come down to his level and she leaned down. He whispered in her ear. "Do you know how to get to the stable?"

Her lip twitched. She had a runaway on her hands. She was fairly sure with the conspiratorial mumbling that he had escaped his aunt. She played along with him because it was fun. "What's in the stable?" She whispered back.

"Horses."

"Of course." She nodded seriously. "It would be crazy to keep anything else there."

"Can you show me?"

"Does your aunt know where you are?"

His eyes got huge. "How did you know I have an aunt?"

She smiled at him kindly. "I do live here. Word travels pretty fast in this place." She tilted her head. "Does she?"

He let out an extremely dramatic sigh for a little boy. "No."

She suppressed her laughter. "Maybe we should go find her. I don't want her to think anything happened to you. Where is she?"

"She won't let me go to the stables!"

"No, I won't." They both looked up at the response. She took Olivia in. The teenager still looked like one but her eyes were older than the rest of her face. Her hair was back in a pretty, but no nonsense braid. The coloration of it was gorgeous and she found herself more than a little envious of the bright color.

Still, in the Outer Zone the color wasn't uncommon like it was where she grew up. She'd noticed that red and blond hair was much more prominent here than in her world. In Kansas it was rare to see anyone with a red tinted hair color that was natural, and blond was uncommon. But here the two colors made up about half the populations hair pigmentation. She also noticed that recessive genes didn't seem to have a factor here. A dark haired parent wouldn't necessarily cover up their partners hair color in their children. It was strange but most things here were. Those thoughts had inevitably led to more and she wondered if the Irish had actually been a large group of slippers that came over from this side, not that there was anyway for her to find that out. "I've told you not to run off like this, Sam! What if something had happened to you?"

"But I'm bored." He whined. "Why can't I go see the horses?"

The woman shook her head authoritatively and she could only admire her control of the boy. She wasn't sure she'd be anywhere near as good with a child. "And I told you that you can't go to the stable without Jeb or Wya-" She corrected herself at once. "-General Cain." She figured the name switch had a lot to do with her being here. The young woman turned to her. "I'm very sorry if Sam was bothering you."

"Not at all." She smiled reassuringly. "I'm sure if I were his age I'd be bored to pieces too." She thought an alternative to the stable might be a good idea. She could wait to see Raw for another hour or two. "If you'd like I could take you both to the gardens. All the children that live in the palace play there."

"Oh." Olivia seemed relieved. She was sure the idea of letting her nephew run himself to exhaustion with other highly excited children would be a dream for her. "Could you?"

"Sure." She turned in the opposite direction she had been heading. "This way."

Olivia caught Sam's hand and walked next to her. "I appreciate your help. I'm Olivia Stills. I hope my nephew introduced himself."

"He did, and very well. You taught him excellent manners."

"I try." Sam sent her a winning smile and her lips twitched down at him. Olivia returned her attention to her. "Do you work here?"

"I do."

"That must be interesting. What with all the things that go on here."

"It has its moments for sure."

The other woman studied her for a moment. "Are you from here?"

"What do you mean?"

"I'm sorry, you just have an odd way of speaking." Her green eyes flicked over her pants and she was sure Olivia was being delicate about the oddness of her trousers as well. Not many women wore pants here.

She tried not to laugh at the question. "I've been told that before. I slipped over a few years ago. It's pretty hard to hide. Not that I try all that much."

"You slipped over?" Sam asked excitedly. "What's that side like?"

"It's different. I'm afraid I don't have enough time to tell you about it right now."

"Wow!" He had let go of his aunt in an instant and started bouncing around her excitedly. "I've never met anyone that really slipped over before! Can you believe it, Olivia?"

"Yes, I can. Don't jump in front of people like that." She grabbed him so he wouldn't trip over him. "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it." That was probably the most favorable reaction she'd ever gotten from anyone after hearing she came from Kansas, the flattest place on Earth. She was loving this kid. He was hilarious.

The other young woman glanced around all of a sudden. "Maybe we should wait to go to the garden. I don't want to go missing on Jeb. I have no idea how long his meeting is going to last. He didn't say. I just thought of that."

Sam sent her a pathetic stare as the idea of losing garden time sank in. She destroyed the fear at once. "That's not a problem either. All you have to do is tell one of the stewards." She pointed one out to her. "They wear the green uniforms." She waved at the man in question and he made a beeline for her. When he stopped in front of her she addressed him by his name, she found that made a lot of people friendlier. "Mr. Banks, could you let General Cain, the young one, know I'm taking his guests to the garden? Sam needs to stretch his legs."

He bowed at the waist. "Of course, your grace.".

"Thank you."

He straightened up and left to deliver the message. She smiled at Olivia. "It took me awhile to get used to that but don't worry. All the stewards are very nice. If you need anything just ask."

The other woman's eyes were suddenly large and wary. "He called you your grace."

"People around here do tend to do that. Terribly annoying." She spotted the door they needed at last. Going to it she opened it and ushered the boy out into the sunlight that started to pour into the hall. He hadn't caught on to what his aunt had. "Out you go."

The kid yipped with joy and bolted. She followed him and Olivia rushed after her. They emerged onto a terraced garden that was over the third floor of the palace. The high walls that surrounded it kept any possible falls from happening and the kids loved this place. There were at least three of them in the football field sized area at any given time. She was sure Sam would find a playmate within minutes.

She couldn't blame the children for loving this area. She loved it too. The gardeners kept it beautiful. Trees and bushes of colorful flowers filled the place with shade and places to play. There were several small ponds full of fish and frogs for them to chase and the butterflies that somehow managed to find the garden all the way up here kept fluttering about playfully. Add in that there was always a spare ball or toy to play with hidden somewhere and there was no better place for them. The parents felt safe with their kids out here and the guards that made rounds through it every few minutes helped with that.

Spotting a bench hidden under a blooming tree she went toward it and sat down gingerly. It was nice to let the warm sunlight brush over her skin. Getting stuck inside so long had her wishing she were back at the lake and swimming. Olivia sat next to her nervously and she grumbled internally. This always happened when someone new found out she was royal. "You don't need to get edgy. I promise I don't bite. Not unless I have to anyway."

"You're Princess Dorothy." She said softly.

"True that."

"Umm."

She sighed. "That means 'yes I am'."

"Oh."

"Don't get all uptight on me now. We were totally having a good time."

Olivia began to stutter. "That's-that's not at all proper."

"Trust me when I tell you I am not overly concerned with proper behavior." She shrugged. "I grew up on a farm and worked in a pretty low class restaurant before I came back here. I like normal, non-princessy conversations."

"You worked in a restaurant? Serving people?"

"For really measly tips. So wrong I tell you. My service was first class." That had Olivia smiling slightly. Trying to get her back to normal she reached into her pocket and tugged out another piece of candy. "Chocolate?"

"Thank you." She said as she took it with a look of bafflement. "Why do you have candy in your pocket?"

"That is so hard to explain." She changed the subject. "I heard what happened at your apartment. Are you and Sam okay?"

"We're fine. I don't know how my home is though. Jeb had us out and at the palace in about ten minutes."

"That was the smart thing to do. These are bad people."

"Can I ask you what's happening? Jeb's afraid to scare me. I know he means well but I'm going to punch him in the nose if he keeps evading my questions."

She laughed at that. "Like father like son I suppose." Her humor was short lived. "How much detail do you want?"

"As much as you can give me I suppose."

She nodded in understanding. She could tell Olivia wasn't the type to scare easy. She couldn't be if she had been part of the war, especially the resistance part. "A man that used to be very close to the witch started letting criminals out of those iron maidens." Olivia shifted nervously. "Now they're loose. We don't know where they are or how many of them are helping this man. There have been two attacks here, one at Finaqua, and the man at your apartment. I'm sure there will be more before this is over."

"Are we safe here?"

"I don't know." She replied honestly. "But Jeb and Wyatt made sure a guard is watching your room all the time, and I don't think you'll be bothered here. I think that you were targeted before to scare Jeb or get him to do something stupid. He's a strategist by nature and nurture but enough of an emotional shock would ruin that."

"We're a weakness for him." The other woman said.

"No." Her voice was soft but firm. "There's nothing weak about having a family. You keep him stable. You make him want to keep everything safe, especially you. Love isn't a weakness. It keeps us all together."

Olivia was quiet for a few minutes and she let her think whatever it was she was thinking. "Can you stop this man?"

"Yes. We just need a few days."

She nodded. "Can I help?"

"I'm sure you can. I'll let you know, alright?"

"You aren't just saying that are you? I know how to fight. I was in the resistance cell with Jeb. I know how to hold my own."

"I'm not just saying that. I'm sure you can fight better than me. I'm not much of a liar. If there's anything you can do I promise to tell you."

She nodded sharply. "Good." She was quiet for a few seconds. "I can teach you if you want."

"Huh?"

"To fight. I used to teach all the new women that came into camp. I know things that would be easy for you to do."

"What do you mean easy?"

She shrugged. "Men and woman are built differently. We can fight differently because of that. You should fight to fit your body, not to fit in with someone else's standard."

She hadn't thought about it that way before. Maybe that's why she could never beat Glitch. "That would be cool."

She got an odd look in response. "Does that mean yes?"

"Yeah it does. It's going to have to wait until Vy-sor is gone."

Olivia nodded and it was her turn to change the subject. "Maybe I shouldn't ask, but is Jeb happy here? He always seems so tired when he comes to see us. Not that it's changed since the war ended. He always worked himself into the ground. I worry about him."

"He doesn't talk to me very much. Not about things like that."

Olivia sighed. "He doesn't talk to me either. Does he talk to his father?"

"Sometimes." She could hardly forget his ranting before she fled the scene. "You know if you want him to talk to you maybe you should tell him. He's probably trying to protect you by doing that. Stupid, really. I don't think guys get that we worry more when we don't know something than when we do."

"You make it sound easy."

"I don't think it'll be easy, but I think that's what you're going to have to do."

"I know you're right." Olivia shifted. "This is going to start a fight."

"Yeah, but then he'll stop being stubborn for a few minutes and get over it. That's pretty much how Jeb rolls."

"Why is he rolling?"

"Nevermind." She waved her hand. "It means that's how he'll react. Let him explode and then he'll calm down and listen to you. You just have to get past the initial blast without backing down."

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"The advice."

"Anytime." She smiled over at her. "And thank you for talking with me. It's nice to have another girl to talk to, other than my sister."

"I-"

Whatever she was about to say was cut off by Jeb's searching call. "Olivia? Sam?"

"Over here!" Olivia called back.

A few seconds later and he walked into view. He took them in quickly and nodded to her. She couldn't tell what he was thinking or feeling but sensed it was time for her to go. Even if she couldn't tell what way he was feeling about her she could sense the shift between them, his new awareness of her. She would give him space until he wanted to find her. She thought that would be the best approach. Strategic retreat until terms were offered.

She bid Olivia a farewell. "It was nice talking to you, Olivia. Maybe we can meet up again later?"

"Do you have to go?"

Yes, yes she did. She needed to let Jeb do what Jeb did. Put her presence into one of his strategic maneuvers so he felt better about it. Besides, she was really starting to feel the ache of her drain and fall now. It was time to see Raw. "I do, but feel free to find me whenever you want." She nodded to Wyatt's son. "Hey, Jeb."

"DG." His voice was devoid of emotion but at least he spoke to her.

"See you guys later." Without further hesitation she left them in the garden and forced herself back inside and out of the sunshine. Pity. Heading toward a different hall she made herself relax. If Jeb hadn't gone off on her now he probably wasn't going to. Of course, Wyatt was probably on pins and needles about whatever had gone on between them, and she wanted to talk him down, but she really needed to get fixed first. Besides, if she knew the tin man at all he was going to need a few minutes alone to analyze.

Decided on her plan of action, she went to Raw's rooms. This would be good. Everything was fine. If Jeb was that calm then it must have gone well. It must have been a good heart to heart. She pulled in a worried breath. Please god, let it have been a good talk. The last thing any of them needed was more drama in their lives.

Author note: Hi, guys! New chapter! Yay!


	27. Chapter 27

Disclaimer:

Frazzled and off kilter, he went back to his rooms. He needed to clear his head. The walk around the palace had gotten him stable to an extent, and if he were smart he'd make another circuit, but he was worried he might find another bomb. Deeg wouldn't be happy if he got himself blown up while she wasn't there. That, and he'd feel mighty bad about breaking his promise to be careful. Considering she'd just asked him that a few hours ago it seemed wrong to go looking for trouble. So he retreated to what he hoped was a secure location.

Rolling his neck as he entered his rooms he shut and locked the door behind him. He knew at once that Deeg was here. The bedroom door was partially closed and she was the only one that did that. Unsure if he was pleased with her being here before he got himself fully under control didn't mean he could ignore her presence. It wasn't her fault he was upset, and in all likelihood she came to check on him. Deeg was good at that, checking to be sure he was happy.

"Kid?" He called as he pushed the door open. She didn't answer and a second later he knew why. She was sprawled out on the bed dead asleep. He eyed her and figured she must have walked in and collapsed. The kid wasn't under the blanket and her boots were still on. At least she managed to hit the mattress.

Going to her he reached down and tugged her shoes off. She didn't as much as stir at the movement and he felt a soft smile settle on his face. "Just once I'd like to see you stop working before you passed out." Her only response was continuing to sleep and he set her boots under the bed. Returning to her he lifted her long enough to get the quilt out from under her and then laid her back down. The girl didn't as much as twitch as he moved her. She was out cold. He could probably shout in her ear and Deeg wouldn't wake up. Covering her with the blanket he tucked her hair behind her ear. "Not that it'll ever happen." He whispered before brushing her cheek gently. "But what can I do except make sure you collapse somewhere safe? Stubborn thing."

He let himself trace her jaw once before straightening up and moving out of the bedroom. At the rate she'd been going he didn't want to wake her up. She needed to sleep or she was going to get sick. They couldn't afford for that to happen right now. At that thought he sighed softly and pulled the bedroom door nearly closed again. Retreating to his chair he let himself collapse. Shutting his eyes he laid his head back and tried to quiet his mind. His chat with Jeb could have gone worse. It could have gone better too. He supposed he should be satisfied that it hadn't been worse than it was, at least they were still talking.

He'd found Jeb in his office surrounded by reports, files, and to his great amusement, toys. Sam was bouncing around the room with a ball in his hands and Jeb kept side stepping him with practiced ease as he moved about the office. It was a bit like watching a well rehearsed ballet. Olivia kept snatching at the boy distractedly as she talked to his son and kept missing her nephew entirely. Jeb was nodding at whatever she was saying even as he started tacking points on the large map that covered one of his walls.

"If that's what you intend to do, Olivia, I don't see why you're asking me about it."

"I wanted you to know."

"I appreciate that." He said as he stuck a pushpin in the wall. "I'd rather you stay here anyway-" Before the conversation could continue, and he could feel like he was eavesdropping, or get caught doing just that, he tapped on the door. Jeb turned to find him waiting and he smiled a bit as Sam took the moment of stillness to wrap his arms around Jeb's leg. His son swayed slightly in place but didn't bat an eye at the affection the four year old was showing him. "Dad."

Olivia smiled at him. "Hello, Mr. Cain."

"Good morning, Olivia, and it's Wyatt." He had no idea why the young woman wouldn't let his honorific drop but he could persist with this until she did. Her smile turned shy as Sam abandoned Jeb and bounced over to him. With a smile he grabbed the boy and threw him unceremoniously over his shoulder. "And good morning to you, Sam."

The boy giggled at being hauled through the air and he patted his back before setting him down again. "Morning!" He said brightly as his feet hit the ground, then he was off after his ball again.

He smiled after the boy before returning his attention to Jeb. "Can we talk for a few minutes, son?"

"Sure." He began to tack things at lightning speed even as he glanced at Olivia. "Could you give us a minute?"

"Of course." She was up in the blink of an eye and had her nephew in her arms a moment after that. "We'll go back to our rooms."

Jeb nodded and went back to tacking as he got out of the young woman's way. When she was gone he shut the door and stepped toward the desk. "What's going on? Someone else get attacked?"

"Not that I know of."

"Good, I'm running out of guards. They keep saying they need a few hours to sleep between shifts." Jeb's tone never changed but he knew he was making a joke. He switched topics. "Was the border attacked?"

"I hope not. Horrible way to start the day." He thought staying with the banter might be better.

Jeb grunted in agreement as the last of his pushpins went into the map. Then he took a step back and surveyed it critically. Taking a glance he saw that his son was marking the places the suits were located as well as something else he couldn't identify. Knowing that pushing his son for information on his sneaking was a waste of time he didn't question him about it. "What's happening then?"

He felt too uncomfortable to sit down. Deciding that the last time they talked being direct had helped, so he stuck with that abandoning all pretence of humor. "I'm courtin' DG. I thought you should know."

His son went still all over as he faced the map. Slowly, he pivoted on his heel until they were facing one another. His face was blank. "You're what?"

"I'm courtin' her. We're together. I didn't want you to find out from someone else. I came to tell you."

Silence fell between them as Jeb stared at him. It wasn't a comfortable silence. He wasn't a viewer by any means but he felt the shift in the air as surely as Raw could have. Fury was radiating out of Jeb as his son tried to intimidate him. Having never encountered this reaction from his boy didn't mean it was going to work. He'd seen him born, changed his diapers, and witnessed his first steps. Intimidation was not going to work even if it made his insides twist unpleasantly. He stared back calmly, determined to wait him out. He did, at least, manage that.

"What?" Jeb's voice was utterly devoid of emotion.

"I'm courtin' DG." He repeated calmly.

Rage flashed over Jeb's features for the briefest moment. "You're courting a woman that's only four years older than me?"

That sidelined him. He rarely thought of the princess in terms of years. He often had the thought that she was young, chronologically, but mentally she was much older. Admittedly, it had been something he struggled with in the past but the struggle was long since lost. The kid was one of those people that was born being forty years old. It was simply how she was. He knew Deeg often had problems relating to people her own age, she didn't have anything in common with them. Only last night she told him she hadn't had any close friends on the Otherside. All the people she was close to here were at least fifteen years older than her, with the exception of her sister.

"Age is only a number, Jeb."

"She's twenty-three!" He snapped. "You're twenty years older than her!"

Well, damn it. This wasn't going well at all. Taking off his hat he tossed it on the desk so he could run his hand through his hair. This was damn uncomfortable. He didn't want to talk about this at all. That didn't mean he wouldn't. "Jeb, do I look different to you?"

"Different then what?" Jeb was still snapping.

"Different than I did when you were six."

His son's eyes flicked over him. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Do I?" He insisted.

"Why would you look different?" Jeb practically shouted.

"Shouldn't I look older, son? Shouldn't I look different than I did when you were six?"

Jeb wavered and then what he was saying solidified. "You didn't get older in there." It wasn't a question.

"Not the way I should have gotten older. My body didn't change the way it's supposed to. The magic did that. That was the terrible beauty of the idea. Make you watch your own worst nightmare for eternity. Or worse, live through it for years and find everyone you know dead and gone. I was there watching it. My mind got older, it changed, I changed, but my body didn't. On the outside I'm still about thirty-four. Youth isn't the gift people think it is. Sometimes it's a curse."

"She's still too young for you." His son stated without a sign of backing down.

He admitted he could understand why this was upsetting to Jeb. "Maybe she is, I doubt you'll be the only one to think that, but it doesn't change what she is to me."

"And what is she?"

It was such a simple question with such a terribly simple answer. That didn't mean that simple answer was going to be easy for his son to understand, or accept. "She's the woman I love."

Jeb smacked the top of his desk loudly. "You _do not_ love her!"

"I do, son." A lot of emotions were coming at him at once. "I love her the way you love Olivia."

"No! You love mom!"

"Yes I do. Adora was my wife."" There was no point in pretending otherwise. That didn't mean his heart didn't have room for DG. It was different between them then it had been between him and Adora. There was no point in pretending in that either. But the difference didn't make what he was feeling any less real or less meaningful to him. He loved the kid. He'd fought with it for a long time but his heart wanted what it wanted. It wanted DG. "I'll always love your mother."

"And falling in bed with DG is such a great way to show it."

Admittedly his temper began to bubble up at that. He had made no mention or indication that he was sleeping with her. Even if he was, his son had no business jumping to that conclusion. He was unaware of what went on between them or the dynamics of their relationship, and saying that was more than a slight slur on the kid's reputation. It was outright nasty. "Watch what your saying, Jeb. That's no way to talk about her. She's been nothing but good to all of us and deserves more respect from you than that."

Jeb wasn't moved by the argument, or frightened by his warning tone. "If she wanted my respect she should have known better than to sleep with a married man!"

"I'm not married anymore." He was straining for control. He managed to keep his voice at a reasonable volume because he understood the pain the idea of this caused Jeb. "Adora is dead." It hurt him to say that. "And I'm sorry she is, but she's been gone for a long time. I'll always love her. We had a life together, right now you can't understand what that means, maybe in a few years you will."

"Don't try to make me seem less experienced than you so you can talk your way around me! I've been through things you can't even begin to imagine! I'm not a child anymore!"

"No, you're a young man that's dealt with too much death and war. That changed you. It changed everybody. We can't go back and unchanged it."

Jeb snarled, and when he spoke next he knew he was out of logically reasoning. "Stop seeing her!"

"I won't do that, Jeb."

His jaw set. "I mean it. Her or me."

"This isn't a bargain, Jeb. This is my life. This is our family. DG's been family to me since the third day I knew her. Breaking things off with her won't change that. She's going to be here one way or another. And you're going to be in my life regardless of my relationship with her. You're my son. As angry as you are you'll always be my son. That's not something you can try to go around even with that clever head of yours."

Clearly, his son thought he was going to somehow win this argument. "She's not good enough for you."

He almost laughed. All at once he realized, even in the rage he was in, that his teenage son was having a temper tantrum. It had been so long since he'd seen one that he forgot what to look for. But now he saw it. The stubborn jaw and rigid back, the righteous indignation that he got from his mother as surely as his eye color. Jeb had run out of reasonable arguments, assuming he had any to begin with. He was just mad as all hell and had no way else to express that unless he started swinging.

Tamping the impulse to chuckle down, since it would only enrage him further, he answered that. "Son, Deeg put me back together again. I don't think you understand how broken I was. I didn't want you to have to understand. If it weren't for her I would be dead or crazy. She can talk me down when one of my moods hits me. That's an intimidating prospect. She's not bad for me."

"So instead of talking to me you decided to talk to her? A stranger? I'm your son!"

"Which means I'm supposed to take care of you. It's not supposed to work the other way around. You have your own troubles to worry about. You don't need mine on top of them." He shrugged. "If you need to be angry with me I understand. You go ahead and rant and rave at me if that's what you need to do, hit me if that'll help, but leave DG alone. The kid has her own demons to deal with. She was worried as all hell that you would hate her for this. She likes you, she helped us work out what was between us, she's a good person that worries more than she'll ever let on. Don't add to her guilt by dragging her into this."

Jeb growled. "I don't like this."

"I know."

"And I really don't like you right now."

"That's fair enough, Jeb."

His son's eyes glittered dangerously. "I can't talk about this anymore or I will hit you."

He nodded. The boy needed some time to mull this over at his own pace. "One more thing and I'll leave you alone. I want you to know that I'm not trying to replace Adora. That isn't what this is about. DG makes me happy. That means more to me than you realize. It's hard for me to be happy. Other than you she's the only thing that does make me feel that way. I was in a dark place for a long time. She brought me out of it and gave me my life back. She gave me you back. I don't feel lost when I'm with her." He met his son's eyes. "I think you _can_ understand that. I think you can understand what it's like to look at someone and feel like you found home. You don't need to like this, Jeb. You don't need to like her, but be good enough to give her the respect she deserves after everything she did for both of us. Give her the respect she deserves after all she's done to put our home together again."

Jeb said nothing. He made no indication that he was going to do that, but he knew that he would. That was the way his son was. He was a good man and he would act that way. Nodding to him his son in farewell he picked his hat up and left Jeb's office as he set it back on his head. His son was going to need space from him for the next few days, or at least the rest of this one. Right now the boy would need to vent and let some steam off or he would explode as surely as his office had the day before.

Maybe he would be calm enough to talk to him tomorrow morning. They could meet for breakfast, or he could take Sam back to the stables as a peace offering of sorts. Lifting his hand he rubbed his face and sat up in the chair. It could have gone better. "Wyatt?"

He lowered his hand and found Deeg staring at him blearily from the bedroom door. He sent her a smile. "What are you doing up?"

She shrugged. "Nightmare. You don't look very happy. Was Jeb angry? He didn't seem super thrilled when he saw me."

"I won't lie. He wasn't glad to hear it but he'll be fine tomorrow."

Her eyes darkened. "Did you get in a fight with him?"

"I wouldn't call it a fight."

The kid wilted. "You shouldn't be getting in fights with your son because of me."

He stood up and ushered her back toward the bed. She was too tired to be up. "It wasn't a fight. It was a very clear sharing of thoughts." He kissed her forehead. "You need to sleep, Darlin'."

"I can sleep later. Do you want to talk about it?"

Leaning down he kissed her lips. When he pulled away he tucked her hair behind her ear. "Deeg, you need to rest. I promise everything is fine, and we can talk about it when you wake up, but right now I'm puttin' you back in this bed where you're goin' to stay for at least the next eight hours."

"Being bossy." She grumbled sleepily. "Not so sure I like that."

He chuckled and scooped her up. The kid yipped and he put her on the bed before laying down next to her. Turning on his side he spooned up behind her. "You wouldn't know what to do with me if I weren't being bossy."

"S'true." She agreed as she snuggled up against him. "I would know you were an imposter for sure if you weren't being a bossy pants."

He reached over and caught her hand in his as he smiled. "A bossy pants? Darlin', you need to sleep more than I thought if that's the best you can do."

"I admit that you're right about that." She yawned and relaxed. "Will you stay with me until I fall back asleep?"

"I'm not goin' anywhere." He pressed his chin over the top of her head and the kid was literally back asleep in seconds. "I promise." He whispered to her hair. She let out a soft snore and he smiled warmly. The kid was well worth the small spat he and Jeb had. Hopefully, by this time tomorrow, everything would be fine again.

Author Note: New chapter! And so you guys know I decided to try a Boomtown fic. I'm not sure how many of you have seen the show, it only aired for one season, but it was wicked good. I should have the first chapter up for that one tomorrow. Check it out if you're interested!


	28. Chapter 28

Disclaimer: I don't own Tin Man.

As he watched DG scribbling notes like mad at the small desk in the corner of his sitting room he was sure no one could call her anything but fully committed to what she put her mind to. She had been at this for three days now, barely stopping long enough to sleep, let alone sit down for a meal. He had to literally force her to stop and eat more than once and she had inhaled the food so fast he hadn't even had a chance to ask her how things were going, and that was when she wasn't in the library with her sister and Tutor. The only time he'd seen her was late at night when she had brought more books than she should have been able to carry and so many notes he wasn't sure how she was keeping track. The last two days he had actually gone to sleep without her and she'd been up before him, leaving him to wonder if she'd ever come to bed to begin with.

Now it was past midnight, again, and he wanted to go to bed, with her this time. He had been pushing near as hard as her and he was starting to show the strain of it. It hardly helped that Jeb was still fuming at him, all but ignoring his presence, and he felt utterly unwanted. With Deeg so caught up in her own work she hadn't noticed the added stress, and despite himself he was loosing control of his temper. Nothing was better at driving it up than uncertainty with Jeb, and without the kid diffusing him he was at his wits end. He was sure the added stress of knowing they were all in danger and everyone was banking on his plan working was helping in the slightest. He might think the plan was a good one, but he'd seen enough schemes go wrong to know this could unravel at their feet with deadly consequence.

Standing up from his chair he put his report to the side and walked over to her. He saw her sketching something like mad, some sort of human image with numbers and symbols all around it, and set his hands on her shoulders. She hummed distractedly at the touch, never taking her eyes off her work, and he kissed the top of her head. "Come to bed, Darlin'."

"I need to finish this." She said, not meanly or as a way to chase him off, simply as a fact of the matter. "I'll be there soon."

Unwilling to argue the point he ran his thumbs over her shoulders in a silent acceptance, about to move off, when she hissed at the slight touch. He paused, dropping the pressure at once and titling his head so he could see her face. She hid it quickly but he caught a flash of pain in her face before it vanished. "Kid?"

She smiled at him brightly, very brightly, and he was suspicious at once. "I used a little bit too much magic. It's fine."

"How much is a little bit?" He asked, knowing she would only hurt if she was drained, and that only happened if she used far too much magic. Holding up her free hand she put her thumb and finger close together to show him. He continued to stare at her unblinkingly and she smiled even more. He was less than convinced. "DG."

Setting the pen down she reached up and squeezed his hand as she leaned back and set her head on her chest. "I'm fine. I need to get this done. It's been trickier than I thought, but we've almost got it."

"You can't go drainin' yourself when someone is likely to attack you again at any moment. What are you goin' to do if that happens? You can't defend yourself if you're drained."

The kid frowned at the sharpness in his tone. "We need to get this right. You're plan is good, everyone thinks so. If it works this'll all be over in the next few days, and besides, you're here with me."

"I can't protect you from everything!" He snapped, his temper finally hitting its end, and the kid jumped at the sudden anger. "I think that's been pretty damn apparent the last few weeks!"

"Cain?" She asked, turning in the chair as he stalked off across the room, trying to pace off some of his frustration. It occurred to him in a flash that now that he was talking to her about what was going on in his head he was having a problem internalizing things. How that had happened he wasn't sure, but for the life of him, at this moment, he couldn't bottle it back up again.

At a loss, and hardly wanting to get in a fight with her when she'd done absolutely nothing wrong, he headed to his bedroom. "I'm goin' to bed. Try to sleep at some point." With that he stepped into the other room and forced himself to shut the door softly instead of slamming it closed the way he wanted to.

No sooner had he shrugged out of his vest and set his gun on the small table next to the bed than there was a soft knock on the door and it eased open. "Wyatt?" the kid stepped hesitantly into the room. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I didn't mean to snap at you." He said, focused on his cuff links instead of her. He was ashamed of the momentary loss of control and he didn't want her to see that in his face on top of the anger and frustration.

The kid leaned against the doorframe and crossed her arms over her chest. "Yeah, nothing says Wyatt Cain is fine like a mini explosion of rage and screaming."

"I didn't mean to yell." He said sincerely.

"I never said you did." She watched him from across the room, as if she could sense his need for space. "Are you going to make me ask again or are you going to tell me? Of course, there are other more annoying options as well. I could get all naggy and up in your face, but I doubt either of us would really enjoy that."

No, he very much doubted that either of them would have a good time doing that. "Everything caught up to me is all. I'll be fine once this is done and over with."

She sighed. "I suppose half a truth is better than a flat out lie." He winced at that call. "Do you want to try one more time?"

"I don't rightly know what to say to you." He said.

She watched him for a second. "Is it because you don't want me to worry about something or you really don't know what to say?"

He was constantly amazed by her insight into his thought process. "A bit of both." He admitted.

"I'm not sure you know, but the less you tell me the more worried I tend to get. I'm afraid you Cain men have this protection thing muddled about midway through the whole thought process, although the idea behind it is sweet all the same."

He eyed her. "Cain men?" He asked, catching onto the plural.

She hummed in agreement. "Apparently Olivia is about to pummel your son so she can get answers. He's left her in the dark over what's happening. I told her to corner him and bully it out of him, which in retrospect, while good for her, is likely going to get him even angrier at me."

"He isn't angry at you-"

"Oh, he is furious with me." She interrupted. "Which pales in comparison to the seething rage he's been directing at you." He let out a frustrated breath and sat on the edge of the bed so he could get his boots off. Deeg walked over and sat down next to him. She was quiet for a few seconds before speaking. "This isn't what I want for you. I know how important Jeb is to you. I know how much you love him. If what we have is going to separate you from him again maybe we should break it off."

That had him freezing as he shoved his second boot under the bed. His stomach dropped unpleasantly and he straightened up, looking her dead in the eye. Her face was calm but he saw real pain in her eyes. "You don't really want that." He stated.

"What I really want is for you to be happy. You won't ever be happy without Jeb." Something dark passed over her eyes. "But maybe you could be happy without me. There are other women out there, and you could make any of them happy and I'm sure a few of them could make you happy right back."

"DG-"

She cut him off. "I won't be the reason you don't have a family again. God knows I've hardly made your life easier anyway. All I do is get you into more trouble every other day."

He didn't want to hear anymore of this. "Stop it, Kid."

She slumped all over. "I can't stop when I know how upset you are. I have ninety-nine percent of my attention on the most complex spell I've ever heard of or could even imagine, and I can still see you've worked yourself up again. And yeah, I know part of it has to do with Vy-sor, but let's face it, that's not the bulk of it. This is a problem for you, I'm a problem, and a big one."

Reaching over he grabbed her carefully and dragged her into his lap. Her arm went around his shoulder automatically to keep her balance and to her credit she never broke eye contact. "You aren't a problem." He cupped her face tenderly. "And Jeb would be just as angry no matter who I was with. He's a man in a lot of ways, but this is too much for him. He can't understand how I could let Adora go and pick someone else. He's gone and gotten emotional about it, which he has every right to do, but he doesn't deal with emotions well." He gave her a rueful smile. "Bit of a family trait."

"Wyatt-"

"I'm not discussin' this. It's ridiculous. I love you and you love me. Complications happen to everyone. This one happens to be our complication." He knew, once again, that he was benefitting from past experience where she had none. Where she saw the ultimate destruction of their relationship he simple saw an obstacle that they would deal with and overcome.

"You mean on top of me being a princess with serious memory loss? With me being someone who's so crazy busy I haven't seen you in almost three days despite sharing a room? Besides me being someone who attracts dangerous things the way a magnet attracts metal? Other than that, and all my other random emotional baggage, this is our complication, the possible destruction of your relationship with your only child?"

"You and your dramatic flair." He said with some amusement despite the seriousness of this conversation. He rubbed her cheek gently, going serious again. "Darlin', I love you. We've got some problems right now, no point in denyin' that, but you can't go turnin' tail and runnin' every time we hit a snag."

"I'm trying to help." She said sadly.

"You scarin' the life out of me tryin' to leave isn't doin' anything to help either of us. And I know right enough I'm not helpin' either." He kissed her carefully. "This whole situation is scarin' me. You keep findin' yourself in bad situations I can't seem to get you out of. I don't like you in danger, I don't like seein' you afraid, and I don't like you workin' yourself into a drain. I know you can take care of yourself but this is gettin' downright lopsided. I'm supposed to be takin' care of you but I just can't seem to get a foot up in this situation. I'm not sure I can protect you when all this goes down. I'm not sure you can understand how frightenin' that is for me."

She nodded when he was finished, rubbing his shoulder reassuringly. "You're protecting me more than you seem to realize. This isn't lopsided. You keep me sane in the insanity of our lives. I would totally buckle under the pressure if you weren't here." Her arms slid around him in a hug. "I didn't mean to upset you more. I really just want you happy."

"You do make me happy." He assured her. "No one makes me happy the way you make me happy. Stop thinkin' that you leavin' is goin' to make anything better. It won't make anything better. You make me better bein' here."

"Okay." She said, holding onto him tightly for a moment before sitting back. "I'm scared too even if it isn't in the same way." She cuddled herself closer to him. "I was also pretty freaked out that you might agree with me about breaking up."

"That should be a pretty good indication it was a bad idea." He kissed her again, holding her close.

"Do you want me to talk to Jeb?" She asked, searching for the right answer to this and hoping he knew. Honestly though, he wasn't sure he knew the answer other than to let this ride itself out.

"Let's worry about that after we take care of Vy-sor. I'm sure Jeb will still be angry four days from now." He smiled at her teasingly. "He's got the stubborn persistence to hold onto it for at least ten times that long."

That had her lips twitching. "You be nice about your son. He's just the same as you are."

"That's why I get to pick on him. It's my fatherly right to point out his flaws so I don't have to deal with mine."

She laughed, her eyes sparkling the way they were supposed to. "You're a rotten man."

"I can't imagine why you would want me."

She shoved at his shoulder at his teasing. "Dork."

He smiled and kissed her forehead, sensing they were both calm again and settled with one another. "Now, how long have you been drained?"

She sent him an annoyed look but shook her head in surrender. "Since your office blew up." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a handful of candy wrappers. "I feel I may have a problem. I've become a junk food junky in less than a week. It's remarkable."

"You've been in a drain for three days?"

"Please don't get mad." She requested. "We needed to get this spell right and you know I'm the powerhouse. Az has been siphoning off my magic so she can construct more. The longer she can go the farther we get, so I've been sharing my light with her."

"I'm not mad." Well, he was but not with her. He was angry all the way down to his core with the situation. "I'm worried. How long can you go like this before you collapse?"

"I suppose we'll find out." She responded without much worry. He figured he would worry enough for the both of them.

"You drive me crazy sometimes." He told her even as he kissed her forehead. "Do you want me to go get you more sugar?"

Her lip twitched. "What a ridiculous question to hear. Who would have thought that would ever come out of your mouth?" He rolled his eyes and she brushed his back with her fingers. "Actually the candy stopped helping yesterday." He frowned and she grimaced. "I think I need to rest, but I can't get comfortable enough to fall asleep."

"You're hurtin'?"

She shrugged. "It's really more of a dull ache. It's annoying and Raw told me he can't really do anything with his gift because it's from my magic not my body."

If a healing gift wouldn't work and the sugar stopped helping too he saw only one option. She needed to relax enough to sleep and maybe he could help with that. "Go take a hot bath and I'll give you a massage. That might help."

"You don't need to do that." She told him.

"This is non-negotiable." He told her firmly as he set her on her feet. "Go on now." He gave her a little push toward the bathroom.

"Bossy." She told him sassily as she walked into the bathroom and tugged her shirt up over her head. He watched her move with avid interest as she disappeared and then began to change as the water in the tub started. He left her alone to soak, occupying himself with getting his room back in order while he had a moment, and fifteen minutes later she came out wrapped up in a towel. She headed toward his dresser, and he knew she was after one of his shirts because she liked to sleep in them, but he diverted her. Grabbing her hips he kissed her neck and spun her back around.

"No you don't. Get on the bed." She smiled slightly and he grabbed one of his shirts for her before following after her. He set the garment on the bed next to the pillow so she could put it on later if she wanted to. She was sitting with her legs crossed under her when he turned back around. He leaned down and kissed her cheek, noting how much she liked the affection as she leaned into his touch. "Where's it hurt?"

"My back is the worst." She told him after another kiss of encouragement.

"Lay down on your stomach, Darlin'. I'll make it better so you can sleep."

She twisted around and stretched out over the blanket. "Thank you."

He leaned down and kissed the back of her neck as he eased the towel off her. "Let's make you feel better." He rubbed her carefully at first, unsure of exactly how tender she was at the moment. About a minute in and he worked out that she was very tender, so much so he was shocked she managed to sit in a chair for as long as she had. Then he began to wonder if that had made the whole thing worse because it seemed the majority of the ache was in her lower back and shoulders, the places she generally put strain on while she wrote and read. He hit a sensitive spot and she flinched. He decided to set up some ground rules. "Deeg, you're goin' to have to tell me when and where it hurts. I don't want to make it worse."

"It hurts all over. I don't know how you want me to direct you here."

"Fair enough." He said, putting the flats of his hands on her back and running them all the way up her spine. That had her relaxing a little and she stretched out farther. It took him about twenty minutes to make the pain stop, but he knew the second it began to vanish. She simply went limp all over and her eyes fluttered shut. He rubbed her for another ten minutes before kissing her shoulder and getting up to turn off the lights. The kid shifted and pulled the shirt he'd brought over on before crawling groggily under the blankets.

He slipped in next to her and she cuddled up against him. "Thank you, Wyatt."

"You're welcome. Do you feel better?"

"A lot better." She assured him softly. "Everything will work out." She mumbled, slipping farther toward sleep. "Crafty tin man brain came up with a great idea."

The reminder had his stomach knotting back up but he didn't let her see it. He kissed her forehead and held her close. "Go to sleep." He urged softly as he made a promise to himself that he would protect her no matter what happened. "I'll see you in the mornin'."

"Let's have breakfast together."

He liked that idea and stroked her hair back easily. "Maybe the chef will have those apple muffins." He said hopefully, the idea of his favorite backed good momentarily erasing his worry. For some reason that had her giggling and he raised an eyebrow. "What's funny?"

"Nothing, I just have to show you a spell I learned if that's the case."

Shaking his head, and knowing better than to ask, he adjusted the blanket around them. "You're drained away and you want to show me a spell?"

"You'll appreciate it when you see it." She assured him with a grin, that was when he knew he was in trouble. He was suddenly torn between wanting to know and wishing the chef would never bake another muffin for the rest of his life.

Author Note: Wow! I updated! I really have no excuse except writer's block for the huge long horrible delay. So I really am sorry about it. I'll do my best to have another chapter up in a day or two as I am now back in the Tin Man writing mode, and don't worry the next few chapters will be more action packed.


	29. Chapter 29

Disclaimer: I don't own Tin Man.

Letting out a whoop of excitement sat their unprecedented success she jumped up and down twice before promptly falling into the nearest chair. Az smiled dazzlingly and even Toto was pleased. The portly man nodded with satisfaction as he shut the book he had open in his hand with a decisive snap and she wondered if she was about to pass out as her head spun in dizzying circles. "We're awesome." She assessed with great joy.

"I can't believe we did that." Az said breathlessly as the very last of the illusion blew away as if a strong breeze had caught them. Her sister was close behind her in her own collapse. She was annoyed that her sister could collapse in exhaustion with graceful poise. She couldn't achieve graceful poise regardless of the situation. "No one should be able to do that."

She grinned impishly. "I think I just said we're awesome."

"DG!" The shout echoed through the library and she turned her head, surprised Cain was hollering at her. As soon as she caught sight of him she snickered evilly, the mystery of his ire apparent. The man had his jaw set and his arm extended fully out to the side as a cream and sunshine yellow ferret wiggled in his firm grasp in an effort to escape. She was sure the animal would have tried to bite him but the tin man had it by the scruff of the neck so all it could do was hang there. "You get rid of this thing!"

She sent him an innocent look as her sister's forehead crinkled in confusion and Toto decided to ignore the whole situation, as if he knew getting involved would, well, get him involved. After the talk she and Wyatt had about how he felt about Tutor she figured it was a safe bet by the man. Maybe her teacher was aware of how the tin man felt about him and was also trying to avoid a fight. She supposed in the grand scheme of palace politics they were both playing it safe. If she really thought about it the two of them could easily cause a great deal of friction in the small world they lived in here. It was better if they avoided one another even if it was a little awkward. "I already told you I couldn't. The spell only told me how to turn a muffin into a weasel, not transform it back into a muffin again." Honestly, breakfast had been freaking amazing. She hadn't had that much fun in weeks, not clothed fun at any rate. His expression of exasperated alarm had been well worth the magic she had used up on the spell.

Eyes narrowed he stopped next to her and dropped the animal, she noted rather gently, onto the table. It chattered up at him, it's tail swishing as it scolded him indignantly at being carried about in such a manner, before leaping into the pile of books and notes and knocking them all over the place. Within seconds the only thing that could be seen was the bright yellow tail twitching about as it burrowed inside their project. Oddly delighted with the destruction of all the work they'd done she smiled even as Cain groused at her. "That thing is a menace! Do you know where I found it?"

"Ermmm-" She threw out her best guess. She knew where she would end up if she were able to climb with any form of agility. "Up in a chandelier?"

"My sock drawer!" He said, his arms flailing in an uncharacteristically dramatic gesture for him. "Do you know how many socks I now own that aren't in pieces or have holes through the toe?"

She threw out another guess, picking a number at random. "Seven?"

"One!" He snapped. "Do you know how many feet I have?"

She knew this one for sure for two reasons. He was human and she had spent quite a bit of time with him naked recently. "Two." She stated confidently, pleased beyond measure that he was incensed, and also that she knew an answer. If he was annoyed he wasn't focusing on the stress of the entire situation. "And I know you have three socks right now because two are on those feet of yours."

He ignored that. "I have thrown that animal outside three times now! I'm tired of walkin' up and down twelve flights of stairs! Why does it keep comin' back in?"

"Geez, Cain, it was your muffin. You picked it out special from the plate and everything. It probably likes you."

"Why is it yellow?" Az asked, interrupting the volley as she leaned in closer to see. She wasn't even remotely shocked that her sister didn't ask why she had decided to turn a muffin into a ferret. All she wanted to understand was the color scheme. It really spoke volumes about their relationship.

"You know, I have no clue." She said as she considered the animal's flicking tail. All at once it vanished only to have the papers fly up in the air like a miniature firework had gone off under them as the former baked good began to play. "I must have done some part of the spell wrong."

Her sister considered that briefly. "What kind of muffin was it?"

"Apple." She supplied as she stretched out farther in the chair, trying to stretch out now tense muscles in her legs and arms.

"Then maybe it's yellow because it was made with golden apples."

"Oh." That totally made sense, in the sense that nothing involving magic made much sense at all. She would so love to have a set of primarily colored rodents running about. How very artistic that would be. "Now I need to make one out of a blueberry muffin so it'll be blue-"

"No! No more!" Cain barked. He pointed at her. "You turn it back! The thing's a menace!"

"Awww!" She reached out, cooing at the animal, which bounded over to her out of the nest of papers it was hiding in with eager and manic glee at the attention she was bestowing on it. Her magic was radiating out of it and she figured the little creature liked her since she brought it into existence. "She's a sweetie." The animal twisted and rubbed its head under hers affectionately as it scurried up her arm and onto her shoulder. "Aren't you?" The animal chattered at her happily and the tin man rolled his eyes, knowing damn well that she wasn't going to turn it back now that it was cuddling with her.

He knew how she felt about fuzzy things. She had told him in great detail when he asked about the farm she'd grown up on. She had always had some sort of pet. People had a habit of dropping off the unwanted creatures at their doorstep. It seemed she had always had a fondness for those rejected by others. Still, she figuring he was really just mad about his socks. Deciding to sway his opinion of their new friend she caught the animal's head gently and turned it so they were looking at one another. There was no need for further miscommunication. "No more destruction please. Go apologize. I know how he is about his socks." Because anyone that kept them that orderly had some serious attachment issues.

The animal twisted lithely and ran back over the tabletop at Cain after leaping off her like an Olympic hurtle jumper. At least she could make graceful creations even if she couldn't be graceful herself. When it skidded to a halt on the slick wood at the edge and went up on it's hind legs chattering up at him as he glared down at it. "You'd best find me more socks if you're expectin' forgiveness." The animal bobbed up and down twice before jumping at him. He jerked backward but the ferret caught onto his belt and promptly used his holster to climb down to the floor. Dashing out of the room had the tin man sighing and turning back to her. "Did you make it crazy on top of bein' yellow?"

Her lip curled up at the corner. "Hardly, I think she went to steal you some replacement footwear."

"What?" He turned after it, not expecting her magical creation to understand that or take it seriously. Apparently being a tin man for fifteen years had him a bit off put by stealing. "You get back here!"

"Don't go yet!" She said before he could take three steps.

He turned his head over his shoulder. "Kid, I can't let it-"

She interrupted him. They had way more important things to worry about than a used to be muffin ferret kleptomaniac. "We got it to work."

He was back at the table in an instant. "You did?"

She smiled brilliantly and he grinned. Before either of them could say anything Toto piped in. "Only one problem."

"What's that?" Cain asked, his smile vanishing.

"The princesses can only hold it for two minutes at a time."

"That's it?" He asked with suppressed disappointment.

"Don't be a downer, Toto." She said, trying her best to be positive. After all this really was the best and only plan they had. "We only worked it out ten minutes ago. If we practice-"

"If you practice you'll be very fortunate to get it to work for five or six minutes at best." He interrupted. "I want this to work too, but we have to be realistic about it or one of you could be killed. Both of you know how much magic you used to do that. Not even you can go beyond a drain. I've worked hard to show you your limits. Don't take that lesson lightly."

She tried not to be depressed by that as Az sighed tiredly. Cain tapped his fingers on his leg in frustration as his well-crafted plot was being taken down by logic. They needed at least, the very least, ten good minutes. If nothing else he appreciated logic. The only thing that he liked more was keeping her safe. Needless to say for once Cain was on her teacher's side. "We need to rethink this then. We might be able to tweak it so it works to our favor."

Frustration began to bubble up. "We finally got this and now you want to change the plan?"

He was clearly as frustrated as her. "What do you want me to say, Deeg? We can't do this if you can't hold the spell." She opened her mouth to volley back and he was pushed on before she could. "And no I'm not blamin' any of you or pointin' fingers. The two of you can't get hurt and you know why. You told all of us why not two weeks ago at that midnight meetin'. You weren't wrong about any of that either."

You know sometimes she hated being right. "Fine." She said. "What do we do then?"

"I don't know." He admitted. Grabbing a chair he pulled it out and sat down. He looked off across the room thinking as she rubbed at her temples. It was ten in the morning and she felt as if she had been awake for days even after a solid night of sleep. Letting Az drain her, while productive, was becoming not only exhausting, but excruciatingly painful. As of yet she hadn't let out a peep at the feeling, but twice Az had given her sharp looks as her magic waned abruptly. Both times she had thrown her off the trail, claiming simply lack of focus, but she suspected her sister wasn't fooled. The only reason Az had gone on was because they really needed to do this.

After several minutes of all of them staring about stupidly she decided that was enough. "Okay, this is ridiculous." Everyone turned their attention to her. "We need to have a meeting. The four of us, while clearly the smartest of our awesome and ragtag gang, need more input."

Cain's lip twitched up and even Az smiled tiredly. "We do tend to work better as a cohesive group." Her sister remarked.

"I'll have Jeric get everyone. Where should we all meet?" Cain said as he stood up. She thought maybe she should get herself an aid when he mentioned the soldier. They always seemed to be so darn useful.

"Here seems as good a place as any." Az remarked.

She let her head fall to the desk with a hollow thunk. It didn't help much with the overall pain she was experiencing. That lovely massage Cain had given her had sure helped her fall asleep last night, but no sooner had she woken up than she started to throb all over. She imagined this was what it felt like to have been badly beaten and lived through it. "Have him get Olivia too."

"What?" The tin man asked sharply.

Forcing her head up she regarded him without her normal amount of patience. "She was in the resistance, Cain. She's got a sneaky brain and I told her if she could help I would let her."

He was severely reluctant to do that. "Jeb won't-"

She cut him off at the knees. They really didn't have time to argue about this. "Jeb was her captain." She said bluntly. "I doubt this is the first time he's viewed her as the clever fighter that she is. I would think after this long around me you wouldn't be so quick to set aside someone simply because they don't look like they can fight."

He pressed his lips together at the slight reprimand. "He won't like her involved in this."

"He'll like it much less if she dies as a consequence of our failure. So what do you want to do?"

He eyed her with a knowing look and she knew he caught her hiding the pain. She supposed she hadn't made it overly hard to tell. It wasn't like she was demanding or snippy when she felt fine. The magic drain was really wearing her down and all her normal defenses were gone. "I want you to sleep when this meetin' is over." He turned to Az. "How long has she been working drained today?"

"What?" Her sister asked with real surprise. Apparently she had been wrong about her sister being able to tell she wasn't at her best.

"Aren't you usin' her magic?" He asked in exasperation. "Why can't you tell?"

Both her sister and her teacher were assessing her now, their own magic prodding hers with gentle politeness, if that's how you could term it. After a long moment Az spoke. "But you still have so much left."

She had nothing to say to that and Cain pressed his lips together. "You're resting after this. I don't care what we decide to do."

"But-"

"We're not startin' that again." He said firmly. "You're going to have a stroke, or your heart is goin' to stop, or your brain is goin' to melt out your ears. And before you tell me that's nonsense you ask Tutor. I may not know spells, but I know what can happen if you push too hard for too long. Easiest and most common way for a mage to die is to not know their own limit. I found more than one dead in their shops after trying to do to much when I was workin' in the city. It's not a pretty sight to see someone lyin' dead in their own blood. I refuse to find you in that condition."

"He's right." Toto said. She found it unfair they were ganging up on her. "You should have told me you were at your limit. I can't tell unless you inform me. This is an extraordinarily dangerous thing for you to do."

Even knowing they meant well she was annoyed. All she wanted to do was get this done. However, she didn't want to die and she felt like crap. She supposed Cain wasn't the only one that could benefit from using logic. "All right."

He nodded sharply at the agreement, knowing very well that once she said it out loud she wouldn't go back on her word. "I'll be right back then. Have any of you eaten?" At all their negatives he nodded. "I'll have some food brought too."

Toto seemed scandalized at the idea of food near all the books but Cain didn't give a hoot. He was nearly at the door when his new little friend raced back in. The yellow ferret was moving as fast as she could while a pair of clean, green socks nearly filled her vision. Still, she spotted his boots and slid to a halt, her small nails clicking on the tile. The tin man stopped so he wouldn't step on the rodent and she promptly set the socks down in front of him like a dog returning a stick to his master. Going back up on her back legs she stretched up and chattered at him proudly, indicating her peace offering. Most of her foul mood vanished at the absurd sight. It lifted completely when the tin man spoke. Instead of yelling he accepted this new madness the way he accepted all the other madness she brought with her wherever she went. "Are those even my size?"

The yellow ferret went still for a moment in deep thought of how to determine that before springing into action. The animal raced around his feet three times as she assessed how big they were before untangling the bunched socks. Using her small paws she rolled one out, studied it critically, nodded to herself, then bunched them back up with busy paws. Finished, she set them closer to him, right against the toe of his boot. The tin man raised an eyebrow. "Fine. You stay out of my clothes and go sit with Deeg until I get back. With any luck you'll stay out of any large amount of trouble you might otherwise find." The ferret cheeped in satisfaction before picking the socks up and walking to her with utter delight at the approval. "You and your acquaintances." He muttered under his breath. "Pain in my ass."

On that note he vanished and she smiled tiredly. She did love when he grumbled. Really, she had no idea why, it was simply so… normal. It made her feel at home or something. How very strange. Leaning down she scooped the animal up and set her in her lap. "You need a name, sock thief." The ferret simply put the socks down beside her before yawning widely and curling up in a ball of yellow fur. She petted her absently as she looked over the table. Tutor already had his nose back in a book while her sister was staring toward the window with tired longing.

She wasn't the only one starting to lag in this room. She would have Glitch go for a walk with her in the garden after the meeting. It would do Az good for more than one reason. She needed fresh air and she knew her sister hadn't spent much time with Glitch the last few days. They were as tight and she and Cain were and she knew how grumpy she was after four days not talking to him. Really, they all needed to clear their heads before this drove them crazy. She half wished Vy-sor would make another move so they could end this like a pair of duelers. Then again, she had always preferred face-to-face confrontation to all this plotting. A few hours later and she dearly regretted that wish.

Author Note: OMG! I updated!


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